


Fresh Start

by FollowingThrowaway



Category: South Park
Genre: Drug Use, F/F, F/M, Harem, Multi, Reader-Insert, Reverse Harem, South Park x Reader, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, alcohol use, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29964120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FollowingThrowaway/pseuds/FollowingThrowaway
Summary: [South Park x Punky/Alternative, Female Reader] Join [Y/N] as she takes a leap of faith and moves to the crappy, mountain town of South Park. An aspiring artist, [Y/N] has moved to South Park to start her adult life the way she wants to. However, as she acquaints herself with her new home and neighbors, she begins to realize some startling things about herself.(Originally posted to Quotev. Notes have been carried over.)
Relationships: Bebe Stevens/Reader, Clyde Donovan/Reader, Craig Tucker/Reader, Damien Thorn/Reader, Eric Cartman/Reader, Gary Harrison/Reader, Heidi Turner/Reader, Henrietta Biggle/Reader, Jimmy Valmer/Reader, Kenny McCormick/Reader, Kyle Broflovski/Reader, Marjorine/Reader, Michael (South Park)/Reader, Nichole Daniels/Reader, Pete Thelman/Reader, South Park/Reader, Stan Marsh/Reader, Token Black/Reader, Tweek Tweak/Reader, Various (South Park)/Reader, Wendy Testaburger/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. 1. Fresh Start

Your name is [Y/N] [L/N], and you were relatively average. Growing up, you were the child that blended into the class, quiet and unassuming, easily passed by your classmates and elders. You performed average in school, in your opinion; you got mostly A's and B's, but never tried for more advanced classes. Your social life was average, as well. Although you were considered part of a rather large friend group of nerdy and artistic kids, only a few of them were truly your friends. Even when you got invited to parties, you ended up feeling out of place, spending the later part in a corner with your drink and petting the host's pet, or leaving early. Like a lot of teens, you spent your high school years working a part-time fast food job, although, you certainly felt the place's occasional violent and creepy customers earned it a "not so average." Your family was somewhat average. Your parents were not horrible, or abusive, but they were not great, and you were still chomping at the bit to get out of that environment. You were at a lost when it came time to apply for colleges, and just ended up halfheartedly applying to a bunch of random, out of state colleges, along with the more popular ones in your state. You weren't even sure if college was what you wanted!

Looking back, the seeds of your rebellion were planted subtly and early. You felt the need to make yourself different, in small ways that were easy to hide from or explain away to disapproving parents. You began to seek out music you thought would be edgy, the kind of stuff the stereotypical goth or punk kids in movies would listen to, as though listening to it would make you cooler. You were drawn to the beat up, tattered book of Poe's works that you found in a pile of your father's books. You started getting into art, desperately seeking some sort of outlet for your creativity, nurturing and growing the hobby into a passion. Although it has since petered out somewhat, you had a pretty strong witchcraft phase, too. You collected more books on the occult and supernatural over the years than you would care to count. You even collected some small animal bones that you had stumbled upon on walks.

It was only a matter of time until you couldn't stand living a quiet, average life anymore. So, when you got mail from a college in some small, podunk, mountain town in Colorado, offering you an full tuition scholarship, you didn't need much convincing. You barely recognized the name "South Park," but, looking back on the app's you sent in, it had been among the group of random colleges you applied to. You would still need to cover stuff travel and room and board yourself, but you were able to find a rather cheap apartment, and you had just enough money saved from your job and gifts to get yourself there and survive for a month or so while you job searched. The pros of moving to in podunk town, huh? 

As you drove along a long, country road, you caught sight of your reflection in the window. One of your "fuck you, I'm starting over!" moves included a new hairdo, most noticeably bleaching out and dyeing your hair [favorite funky color]. It was a silly, cliché move, but, oddly enough, it was a insane confidence booster. A small U-Haul was hitched to your old, second (maybe even third) hand car. Although your apartment was set to come with basic future, like a bed frame and a small, crappy couch, you took it on yourself to scour the streets for furniture that was being thrown out, but you could still get some use out of. You stuck to things that you could reasonably move in and out of the U-Haul by yourself.

The road trip a relatively easy one, although pulling the U-Haul for such a trek was something you were initially worried about. A strange thing you noticed once you hit the one-hour-away mark was that the weather kept getting colder and colder, you could swear you even saw a few patches of slush and melted snow. Although what little non gossip or trashy information you could find online about the town mentioned unseasonably cold weather, snow in late summer was absolutely unexpected! 

As you pulled into the lot of your apartment building, you were now 100 percent certain that there was snow and slush on the ground. 

_What the fuck? What kind of alternate dimension is this where there's snow in August!?_

You pulled on the jacket you had in your passenger seat, and stepped out and into the cold, your shoes crunching on the salt and slush that coated the concrete. Pulling a set of key out of the envelope your landlord mailed you, you made your way through the building and up to your apartment. The building had a small elevator, which you took up to your floor. The ride was slow and clunky, you would probably just take the stairs once you moved everything in. You exited the elevator on you floor and walked to the apartment you had been assigned, unlocked it, and walked in, taking in the somewhat crappy apartment. 

Well, not crappy, it was actually a good size for the rent, just not pretty. You had a kitchen, a small living area, and two small bedrooms. The second room would make a perfect, little studio. After you documented the damages, you returned to your car and U-Haul to start the move in.

Other than a couple big items, it was mostly just boxes you had to unload. In several back and forward trips, you awkwardly maneuvered the big things through the building and into your apartment. Thankfully, you had plastic wrapped them, so they were safe from the slush on the ground. Then, with the heavy hitters done, you moved onto your boxes. The place had been relatively empty, so you were surprised when a small voice spoke up from behind you, as you dragged boxes out of the U-Haul.

"Hey, um, do you need help... or whatever?" 

You whipped around to see a small, goth girl, who looked to be in her young teens. 

"Oh, hi! God, I would love help, I just have some boxes left, nothing too big. Thank you, I'm [Y/N]," you introduced yourself to the girl.

"I'm Karen. My sister and I live in the building, so I guess we're neighbors," she told you, as she reached for a box, and followed you to your apartment.

"Ohmygosh, you're almost right across from us, that's s-" Karen exclaimed when you got to your door, before clearing her throat, the "correcting" her tone, "I guess that's kinda cool, or whatever."

You stifled a laugh as dropped your box off in your apartment. It was cute how hard Karen was trying to be cool and goth.

_I can't blame her, I could see my younger self doing the same thing, if I had the bravery, back then._

With Karen helping, it was not long before all the boxes were in the apartment. As you two worked, Karen's goth exterior was chipped away, to reveal a sweet, kind teenage girl. She seemed to crave attention, and was especially excited when she realized that a number of your boxes were books and art supplies. You two chatted as she looked through your more "spooky" books, which you offered let her borrow. 

"My sister is into art, too, but I don't think she's gonna try to make a career out of it, or anything. She's just working a lot of odd jobs, and at the gas station. She just wants to make sure she can take care of the two of us, right now, I think," Karen mused, pulling out the books, as you started unpacking your art supplies.

"That's starting to sink in, for me," you responded, "I'm gonna go around and job hunt tomorrow, after I turn in my U-Haul."

Karen looked up and moved a strand of dyed hair out of her face, "Oh! I think the coffee shop in town is hiring, you should check them out!"

She paused for a split second, before hastily adding, "Don't drink their coffee, though."

"What? Why not?" You laughed.

"It just tastes super-duper bad," Karen explained, before pulling out another book, and changing the subject, "Oh, wow, this Poe book so beaten up, ugh, that's so _goth_!"

"I know, right," you smirked, "I snagged that from my dad when I left home. Its, like, really old."

"Can I borrow this one, too?"

"Of course!"

Karen's face lit up, "Ohmygosh, thank you so much! You're almost as cool as my sister!"

When it began it grow dark, Karen made her exit, a large stack of books in tow. You lost a decent amount of unpacking and organizing time, but you didn't mind. Karen was such a sweet, little girl, and had a lot of fun visiting with her. However, after the driving, and moving, you were absolutely wiped. You barely moved car and the U-Haul and made your bed before you collapsed onto it.

As far as drastic fresh starts go, you thought yours was going pretty well! As you lie in bed, you made a mental note to check out the local coffee place, before you drifted off to sleep.


	2. 2. Food

Returning the U-Haul did not take up much of your morning. Or, well, afternoon. You were not the most morning friendly person in the world. You made your way back into town, snacking on your leftover road trip snacks. You were going to have to visit the grocery store later today, so you could stock your kitchen with food that did not come from a pit stop. You made sure to keep an eye out for the store as you got back into town.

When you were doing your research before the move, you learned that the town once had a Whole Foods, but that they closed it after the townsfolk apparently started to rebel against it, getting replaced by a local chain. That was supposedly some time a few years back, when the town had gone through a revitalization phase. The town had declined somewhat over the years since, although it was still better off than it had been before the revitalization. Weird internet rumors still circulated from that time period, like the presence of super heroes, and claims of mutant turkey attacks. In fact, there were a lot of weird, outrageous claims about the town, some apparently being one hundred percent true. Although, driving through it, the town seemed just like a small, sleepy, cow town, to you.

As you checked out the town, you made your way to the coffee shop Karen mentioned last night, eventually finding yourself parking across the street from Tweak Bros. You took note of the "Help Wanted" sign propped in the window, and as you entered, the chime of the door's bell was accompanied by an odor that nearly slapped you in the face. It was not a bad odor, at all, just a smell of coffee, like you would expect, just with a strange twist that you couldn't put a finger on. 

_Maybe they use slightly outdated produce? Is this what Karen was trying to warn me of? I'll stay clear of drinking it, then, I can't afford even the smallest chance of getting food poisoning!_

Shaking your worries off, and vowing to stay clear of the off coffee, you took in your surrounds. The shop was not a small one, but it was still quaint and intimate. A few patrons sat at the tables, chatting as they sipped their coffee and snacked on café treats. A messy-haired, blonde, young man bustled in and out of the back room with restocks and cleaning supplies. Manning the counter was a kind looking, middle aged woman at the cash register, and very well put together, young man refilling the treat display case. 

"Hello!" You plastered on your best "obedient-good-kid" smile and greeted the woman, "Do you happen to know who I should talk to about applications? I saw the sign, and would love to apply!"

The woman gave a charming laugh, and offered you a handshake, as she began speaking in a mild, soothing tone, "Well, that would be me, dear! I'm Mrs. Tweak."

You returned the handshake, and introduced yourself.

"Let's sit down and chat, dear," Mrs. Tweak walked out from behind the counter, then spoke to the young man next to her, who had been subtly trying to watch the exchange, "Token, could you take over the register for me?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Tweak," he responded. 

Token gave you a smile and a wave, which you returned, before following Mrs. Tweak to a table.

"So, tell me about yourself, [Y/N], you are knew to town, right? Your hair is fun, I'm sure you'll be a nice fit here," the woman asked, a small note pad and pen in front of her.

"Oh, are we going straight to the interview?"

"I don't think we need to bother with all the tiring paperwork, we're just a small, family own business, and we at Tweak Bros. treat it like a family," she gave you a smile with her explanation. 

_...Weird. But this is a family owned business, not a McDonald's. It's gonna be different._

You gave her a brief introduction, trying not to get too personal. You stuck to the basics: Just moved in from [Home State/Town], will be starting college classes in a week or so, an aspiring artist. You did not want to spill your life story to the woman.

"Oh, we would simply love to have your type of person... the _artistic_ type, join our family. We can have you draw on the menu boards, things like the Chinpokomon Go characters our shop has, along with the standard duties."

_That's not how Chinpokomon Go works..._

"That sounds fun! I would love that," you responded.

"Wonderful! Could you start tomorrow?" 

You paused a moment, before asking, "Wait, you still need to run my background check, and all that?"

Mrs. Tweak laughed again, but you could sense something off about it, "We don't need to jump through all those legal and paperwork hoops. We will be paying you in cash, anyway, it's much more convenient for you young folk, anyway."

_OKAY. This is totally weird._

"As a starting employee, you will be making thirteen dollars an hour, not including tips."

_I can suck it up for slightly above minimum wage, **plus** tips. I'm **definitely** staying clear of that coffee, though._

_\---_

After you and Mrs. Tweak discussed hours and exchanged contact info, she wheeled you around to the blonde, who had been cleaning tables.

"This is my son, Tweek. Tweek, dear, this is [Y/N], she'll be working with us, starting tomorrow."

"Hi-" you began to wave at Tweek, before he interrupted you.

"GAH! You're n-new, that's a lot of pressure, man!" Tweek pulled on a lock of his hair. 

You did not have time to react to Tweek's odd name or behavior, before his mother steered you to the counter, "And this is Token, he has recently started working for us, as well."

"Nice to meet you, [Y/N]!" Token stuck out his hand for you to shake, shooting you a winning smile. Quite the opposite of Tweek. 

Mrs. Tweak left the two of you to chat as she bid you goodbye, and entered the backroom. 

Token kept his voice low, as he told you, "Trust me, Tweek isn't always like that. He's pretty cool when he's warmed up to you. And away from his parents."

"Oh. I get that, I'm on edge around mine, too," you looked back to Tweek, who was trying to look busy.

"So, how do you like South Park, so far? And if you don't mind, why the hell did you move _here_ ," Token asked, laughing a bit. 

"The community college gave me a really good scholarship, and I figured it was the best shot I had. I only got here yesterday, but it seems alright, kinda boring, really," you laughed, "I'm having a hard time believing all the weird rumors about it."

"Which ones? There's a _lot_ of weird stuff around here."

"Like about all the super heroes, and stuff," you rolled your eyes, "Like, yeah, maybe one or two, but a whole team? I'd expect it in Denver, but not here, ya know?"

Token seemed to perk up even more at the mention of the local heroes, "Oh! Those are real! South Park is lot more dangerous than you'd think, they're our town's sworn protectors. They're all super cool, too! Especially Tupperware, he's a mechanically inh-"

You interrupted him with a snort, "Tupperware?!"

Token's face heated up, "Yeah, n-not the greatest name," he rubbed the back of his neck, "A lot of the heroes started pretty young, so they're kinda goofy."

"Oh my god, I thought the crazy names I saw were jokes, or-or placeholders!"

You noticed Tweek sidle up to Token, joining him at the counter, "Wonder Kid is way cooler than Tupperware, [Y/N]!" 

You were audience to a mild back and forth between Tweek and Token, as they civilly debated whether their favorite hero was the best, occasionally chiming in with questions that furthered their debate. Token was right when he said Tweek opened up away from his parents.

_Jeez, you fanboys, not even trying to hide your celeb crushes. Don't let your parents find all that Super Hero x Reader stuff in your internet history._

Even if there could be a winner of the debate, you would not know. When Tweek's mother reentered the main floor of the shop, he gave a small yell, and scrambled to look like he was cleaning. 

You took the opportunity to say farewell to the boys, and make your exit. You exchanged contact info with Token (Hey, he's your coworker, his cute face had nothing to do with asking for his number), and headed out.

Next on your agenda was the grocery store. You went straight there once you returned to your car, hastened by a small rumble in your stomach. You did your best to shop quickly, sticking only to the essentials. Even with a job, you only had so much money immediately available. You'll get the fun stuff later. The shopping trip was rather fast, impressing yourself. You made a beeline for the only checkout lane with no line.

The cashier was a somewhat large, bored looking young man. The tag pinned to his shirt read "Eric." 

Without a hello, Eric launched into what you could only describe as a self advertisement spiel as you place your items on the belt, "New chick, if you're looking for a gaming channel that fulfills all your gaming needs, look no further than CartmanBrah. Tutorials, play throughs, theories, we got..." 

He trailed off as he angrily jabbed at the computer, having trouble scanning your purchases, "Dude, what the fuck! This stupid thing just took a shit on me!"

You stood there awkwardly as he repeatedly called over his poor coworker. A tired looking but beautiful girl with a black bob joined him at the register.

The girl introduced herself, as she fiddled with the computer, "Hi, I'm Wendy, you must be new in town, welcome to South Park!"

You introduced yourself.

She scowled, and looked exasperatedly at her coworker, who stood annoyed, arms crossed, "Oh my god, Cartman, what did you do to this thing? I'm sorry, [Y/N], I'll check you out at my register."

Cartman made a celebratory comment about this meaning less work for him, as Wendy helped you move to the adjacent lane.

"[Y/N], are you on Instagram? We should follow each other-"

Wendy was rudely interrupted by a loud groan from Cartman, "Instagram is _so_ 2000 and late! Coonstagram is where it's at, New Chick!"

"What's Coonstagram?"

Wendy beat him to the explanation, "Its a local social media site he made when we were kids. I hate to admit it, but it's actually nice. Our parents forgot about it after a while, so we use it as place for people our age. Although, he probably just wants you to get it since he makes ad money off it."

"Dude, New Chick, take out your phone and download it, I'll help you set it up," Cartman joined you and Wendy at her lane.

Wendy snapped at him as she finished scanning your items, "Can you wait just _one_ minute, Cartman? You are going to screw up my average. At least let her pay, first."

Although he huffed, he waited for you two to finish up. He nearly jumped on you when you were finished, though, coaching you through the sign up.

_I think I just broke the record for fastest account sign up._

Feeling like a ragdoll in between the two, you made your leave after giving Wendy your site name, making room for the other customers. 

The trip home and back up to you apartment was an uneventful one. You made yourself a humble sandwich once the groceries were put away, then set your sites on the unpacking you still had to do. 

You looked through podcasts to listen to as you worked, choosing one that focused on folklore. The words of the host quietly filled your apartment as you unpacked.

_"...yeah, its not surprising that necromancy is a popular trope across the globe, defying death is simply human nature..."_

\---

You had finished your unpacking, and got a decent amount of organizing done by the end of the day. It wasn't perfect, but it was at least livable. As you wrapped up, you decided to check your new Coonstagram account.

_What the fuck?_

You had a _lot_ of follows. Well, a lot considering it was a social media specific to young people in South Park. You bit the bullet and simply followed them all back.

_Word really does travel fast in small towns._

You scrolled through your follower list, taking note that Karen, Token, and Tweek were among them.

Karen's Coonstagram was mostly pictures of herself, as well as usies of her with a young woman with short, blonde hair, and very serious looking goth kids.

Token's was rather plain, mostly selfies and usies, as well as what you assumed was his lavish home.

Tweek's did not have a lot of pictures of himself, having mostly ones of baked goods, and latte art, with the occasional guinea pig picture. 

Next, you found Wendy, and, surprisingly, Cartman on your follower list.

Wendy had a lot of selfies and usies, and beauty posts, but also promoted a True Crime channel she ran. You made a note to check it out.

Cartman's account was mostly self promotion, and fanboying over some furry hero. Out of curiosity, you clicked onto his YouTube channel, only to realize, to your shock, that you had actually watched some of his tutorials in the past. Social media managers must be miracle workers to turn a dick like the one you met today into a charismatic YouTuber. 

_The people of South Park certainly have been an interesting bunch._


	3. 3. Sandwich Boards

Your day began around noon, as you just lay in bed for a while, taking in your surroundings. Your room still did not feel exactly like your own. The Chinpokomon plushies and posters from your childhood home seemed out of place among the peeling and cracking paint and and the sparse furnishings. 

_Once I'm able to get some bookshelves, and display my knickknacks and books, it will feel more like mine. Maybe I'll make some little, spooky display with my bones and old witchy stuff, it'll at least freak out any burglars._

It was more than that, though. As excited as you were to be making it on your own, it was lonely.

_Maybe I should get a dog or something? I think pets are allowed here. I know the apartment above mine has at least one little yapper._

You dragged your gloomy butt out of bed and got ready for the day, pulling on (what you thought as) a [cool shirt](https://www.wickedclothes.com/products/caring-for-your-demon-cat-shirt?variant=16495600042041), and made yourself breakfast. Or brunch, technically. After that, you finished organizing your "studio," attempting to get the space at least acceptable for working. A lot of stuff, like your tubes of acrylic paints, were simply left in the boxes for the moment; it was a better fate than your books, which currently were spread throughout the apartment in stacks. 

With time to spare before your first day at Tweak Bros, you decided to boot up your laptop, and log into Coonstagram. Sitting on your holey couch, you saw there were a few private messages waiting for you. 

**Wendy** : Hey, [Y/N]! I hope South Park is treating you well! We should hangout once you get settled in ;P 

**Wendy** : Btw I'm sorry about Cartman, yesterday, he's the town dick :/

Wendy was the only one of the four people that you recognized. You wouldn't mind meeting up with her, she was cute.

**Heidi** : Hi, [Y/N], I'm Heidi Turner. I just wanted to welcome you to South Park! :)

She seemed like a nice girl.

**Clyde** : Hey new girl!!! Lets hang out sumtime ;)

You simply rolled your eyes, and moved to the final message.

**Kenny** : Hey we havent met yet but im ur neighbor, Karens my sister. Thanks for being cool to her

This must be the sister Karen had mentioned to you! Looking through her pictures, you connected that she was the blonde in some of Karen's posts.

You left your PMs for the time being, and a post by Cartman caught your eye. It was another one of those fanboying posts about that one super hero. You had skimmed over the initial ones, since you had only been on his page for a few seconds. Who is this guy? 

_The Coon?_

_..._

_Are you fucking kidding me?_

Either this was some joke where Cartman made up a super hero to act as his social media site's mascot, or this man was horrible at having a secret identity. For his sake, you hoped it was the former.

_I would treat my secret identity so much better if I was a super hero, or anti hero, or whatever._

However, as you clicked on his links and followed a rabbit hole of South Park heroes, you came to realize that, oh no, The Coon was a real South Park super... well, "hero" did not seem like the appropriate term. It seemed like he had a history of being involved in shady shit, while still attempting to do "heroic" things. Sounds like something the "town dick" would do.

The Coon's super-peers seemed to fit the super hero bill much better. You were able to find a bunch of "fan sites" that detailed local sightings, and even hosted a few, blurry, bigfoot-esque photos of the heroes. Some of the sites were put together much better than the others. You found some local news articles from throughout the years, as well, the oldest ones having the clearest pictures, showing them to have been children.

By the end for your deep drive, you were proud to say you at least know some crucial things about your local heroes:

  * Judging from how they seemed to age over the years, they had to be near your age, give or take a few years
  * You memorized their names and the basic information you could find about them, although the names were something you previously stumbled on
  * They were probably local, if not, then from a town or so over



_I wonder if I've walked or driven past them? Other than Cartman, of course._

You couldn't explain why this stuff fascinated you, it wasn't like you were some big super hero fan. You could chalk it up to envy, but who _doesn't_ wish they had powers? 

Your super search had certainly done it's job of killing time before your shift, you needed to get off your ass and get ready! You closed out you millions of research tabs, and responded to your messages from earlier.

**To Wendy:** That sounds like a plan, I'd love to hang out!!!

**To Heidi:** Aw, thank you! :D

**To Clyde:** I can't wait to met and hangout with all of you guys :)

**To Kenny:** Oh, cool!! Np, shes a sweet girl! :D

With your social media obligations out of the way, you made yourself a sandwich for the road and grabbed a [canned/bottled caffeinated beverage]. Just because you won't drink Tweak Bros. coffee didn't mean you were going to deprive yourself of caffeine! 

You made it just in time for your evening shift. You had specifically requested shifts later in the day; you were a natural born night owl, and there was no working around that. Walking in, the only staff you could see were Tweek and Token. The only other person in the building was a brunette in a varsity jacket. The young man was leaning over the counter, talking to them, his chin resting in the palm of his hand. Token and Tweek's greetings were drowned out by the young man, who perked up.

"Your finally here! Token said you were working tonight! I'm Clyde, I messaged you on Coonstagram, remember?" The excitable young man stuck a hand for you to shake. Token _mouthed_ sorry when his name was mentioned.

Not missing a beat, you smirked, side stepping Clyde's hand and walking around him, "Jeez, you're messaging me and staking out my work place. You're kinda a little stalker, huh?" You grabbed your apron from Tweek, who was trying hide a smile at Clyde's expense behind his free hand.

"WHAT? NO! Token, please tell her I'm not a creepy stalker!" Clyde's eye started to water as he turned to his friend for help.

Unfortunately for Clyde, that only forced a snort and giggles out of Token. Clyde's voice cracked, "Dude! It's not funny!"

_Oh man. He looked like a kicked puppy, I only meant to throw him off a bit. I think he's actually about to cry._

"Hey, I was just kidding, I don't think you're a creepy stalker!" you tried to defuse, as you swapped your jacket for the apron. 

_**Please** , don't cry._

"Y-you don't?" Clyde asked, trying to blink his tears away.

"No, I don't."

"H-hey, [Y/N], these are the boards my mom wanted you to decorate for tomorrow morning," Tweek brought out a couple chalk sandwich boards, and handed me a list of specials and a mug of chalk markers.

"Oh, cool! What did she want me to draw on them?"

"I don't know - GAH - I think pictures of specials and stuff."

"I'll get those for you, [Y/N]!" Clyde swooped in, picking up the sandwich boards. They looked light, but you still felt bad about hurting his feelings, so you let him get them. His voice was still a little snively. 

"Thanks, Clyde, uh, you can bring them over here," you pointed and lead him to a table directly across the counter, so you could chat with Token and Tweek while working.

Clyde took a seat at the small table next to you. You were relieved he was giving you space, until you saw that he was laying his chin on his folded arms, lowkey staring at you.

Today must be a slow day, but one customer had entered since you arrived.

"Clyde, don't be a creepy stalker," Token sung out, fiddling on his phone behind the counter.

"I'm not being creepy!" Clyde whined out, "I'm just watching her work!"

"Eh, it's kinda flattering," you admitted, before quickly adding, "not that flattery gets you anywhere."

Despite the second half of your comment, Clyde perked up and smiled at you, "Hey, [Y/N], what time do get off? South Park's pretty dangerous at night, I can give you a ride home."

_Ok, he seems to be recovered, oh thank god._

Without looking up from the lettering you were focused on, you responded, "Nine, but, I'm good, I drove here. Thank you, though." 

"Aww..."

"Clyde, aren't you working tonight? Like, soon? How would you drive her home?" Tweek asked, messing with a broom.

Clyde slumped, "Ugh, yeah. I forgot my dad's making me close his stupid store."

"Okay," something was still nagging at you, "How is South Park _that_ dangerous? I mean there's, what, _twelve_ super heroes in town, fourteen if you count Professor Chaos and "The Coon," you provided air quotes, "Shouldn't the town be safe?"

"Wow, you really put in some research since yesterday," Token stated, looking up.

"Why'd you put air quotes around The Coon," Tweek asked.

"I mean, he's obviously... you know?" you gesticulated a bit, giving a "duh" face.

Clyde's eye narrowed, "Who all in town have you met? Like, our age."

"Cartman, for sure," you kept your voice low.

"I guess you figured out our town's worst kept secret identity," Token chuckled, also staying quite, "I think everyone our age knows, so welcome to the club."

"GAH- I'm sorry you had to meet him, though, he's an asshole," Tweek comforted me. 

"It wasn't too bad. He was trying to check me out the grocery store, but he, like, broke the machine or whatever. This cool girl, Wendy, checked me out, instead, and then he forced me to sign up for Coonstagram," you laughed, your voice returning to a normal volume.

"Wendy's a good buffer for Cartman, he's kinda scared of her," Token told you, as another customer came in.

"Oh, and there's a girl I haven't met her in person yet, but I met her sister, Karen-"

"Kenny?" Clyde asked, a suspicious look on his face.

"Yeah," you said quizzically, "she's my neighbor."

Clyde grumbled a bit and told you quickly, "She's cool and all, but I'm cooler."

_Hm?_

Clyde had to leave soon after that, although he insisted on exchanging contacts, first. Once he was gone, you looked to Tweek.

"Hey, Tweek, give your number, too!"

"What? O-okay, I guess," he hesitantly plugged his name and number into you phone, and handed it back to you. 

The night went by uneventfully, the slow trickle of customers decreasing as the night went on. The three of you passed the time making small talk until Token's shift ended, leaving you and Tweek to man the last couple hours alone. 

You had taken Token's spot at the cash register, taking care of ringing up the last few customers of the evening. It was a little awkward without Token acting as a social buffer, Tweek occasionally twitching and messing with his apron.

_Poor guy._

"So, Tweek," you began, hoping to find something to talk about, "do you have a pet guinea pig? I saw you had some pictures of them on your Coonstagram."

Tweek jumped a bit, but his face lit up, "Y-yeah! I have a couple, um, me and my ex-boyfriend run this Instagram account of, like, cute animals and stuff, and they're on there a lot."

"Ex-boyfriend?!" You weren't even going to try to hide you excitement, griping Tweek by his shoulders.

_Only a few days in this hick mountain town, and you actually found another gay person!_

Tweek looked terrified, eyes wide, "I'm - GAH - into b-both..."

"Me, too!"

"Oh.. Oh! Cool!" Tweek's expression went from fear to a relieved smile, "I thought you were one of those weird, Yaoi fangirls."

You let Tweek go and threw your hands up an defense, "Oh god, no! I'm just happy I'm not the only one in town, you know? I mean, I figured Kenny was trans, but I didn't want to assume."

That had clearly broke the ice, Tweek was speaking much more freely, now. He was still fidgety, but at least he was smiling, now, "Hah, yeah, there's more of us in South Park than you'd expect. Most of the younger people in town are pretty cool about it, too." 

After that, the small talk between you two was still a little awkward and stiff, but the air was definitely lighter, and the rest of the night was pleasant. 

\---

You had barely been in your apartment for a few minutes after work when you heard a knock on your door.

_What?! I literally just walked in!_

When you dragged yourself to the door and opened it, you were greeted by who you recognized to be your neighbor, Kenny.

Kenny plastered a smile on, "Hey! [Y/N], right? I'm Kenny."

"Yeah!" You shot her a smile back, "Karen told me a little about you."

"That's kinda why I'm here. I wanted to thank you in person for being nice to her," she was obviously trying to act cool, but she gave herself away by nervously rubbing the back of her neck.

"She kinda needs more friends, or people to look up to, I guess, and she thinks your pretty cool," she continued, "and its nice knowing there's someone in the building that's not some gross, old dude that she can talk to."

"Aw, thanks. I'm here if you guys need anything."

As if on cue, Kenny's apartment door opened, and Karen stepped out, "Kenny! I'm gonna start _Sunny_ without you if you don't-"

When she saw you, a smile broke out on her face and she joined Kenny at your doorway, her excitement contrasting her goth aesthetic, "[Y/N]!"

Seeing her shot and taking it, Kenny, smirked and asked, "Hey, you wanna come over and watch _Sunny_ with us?"

"Sure!"

\---

You and Kenny spent most of your hang out time trying to talk Karen out of trying spells she saw in your books.

_But, it was still nice._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Notes carried over from original posting, and still apply to this posting!)
> 
> This story is kinda go with the flow, atm, I'm still trying to hammer out the main plot/big bad stuff, so its gonna be a bit of set up and settling in for a little bit (not every chapter will be about MC working at Tweak Bros. don't worry). That being said, if you have suggestions for character's that you want in the story, there's plenty of time to work them in lol


	4. 4. Sigils

"Ok, [Y/N], I need your opinion on something."

Wendy sat with you on the driest patch of grass you two could find in the local park, hunched over her laptop. The weather was still somewhat chilly, as you had learned to expect from South Park, but today was a relatively warm one, allowing you to get away with a leather jacket, as opposed to a thicker one. You would be lying if you said you weren't trying to look a little cool for Wendy. You had been in South Park for a little over a week, now, and had taken advantage of her offer to hang out a few times, already. You got along pretty well, and she was eager to fill you in on what you needed to know about your new home. You hadn't _nearly_ met everyone in South Park, but from what gossip you gleaned from her and, to a lesser extent, Kenny, Token, and Tweek, you felt like you at least had a crash course on them all. 

Today, however, instead of learning about neighbors' dark, embarrassing secrets, you were giving Wendy an ear as she researched a case for her YouTube channel. The two of you had grabbed some fast food, and were finishing it up as you sat in the park.

"What's up?" You asked, looking up from your sketchbook, and taking a french fry.

"You know the DVDs that were missing from the crime scene?" Wendy waited for you to nod, then continued, "What do you think about that? Like, the killer took them, obviously, but was it an intentional, personal thing, or just because they there, or what, you know?"

You blew out loudly through you nose, "Alright, so I'm still really biased against the creepy ex-boyfriend, so I see the military movie corresponding to her former military training, it was how they met, and the series being taken because it's about women who are career and self driven, which the victim was."

"But..." you added, "I could also see that applying to the co-worker that was into her. And I guess there's the teeny tiny chance that, if the murder was random, the killer just took them to try to pawn."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It's hard to stay unbiased, with how shady the ex is..." Wendy trailed off, and began typing.

You tapped your pencil against your paper, "Hey, Wends, this is gonna sound weird, but can you sit in a different way?"

Wendy looked up, "What?"

"I ran out of squirrels and trees to draw, and I'm drawing you, now." 

"Oh!" A faint pink dusted Wendy's cheeks, and she repositioned herself.

"Thanks, Wends!" You started sketching again.

"You know, [Y/N]," Wendy chimed out, "You're a really good listener." 

"I don't know..."

_I've just had a lot of practice staying quiet._

"Like," Wendy began twirling the end of her bob as she looked at you, head tilted, "Not everyone really communicates like you do."

"Th-thanks," you could feel your own face heat up a bit.

_Oh shit, is she flirting with me?_

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), the moment ruined by a male voice calling out Wendy's name. Across the park, two young men waved from the basketball court, and made their way over to your spot. The taller of the two had been the one to call out to Wendy. He had a "boy next door" look to him, with a few stray ringlets of curly, red hair poking out from under his bight green ushanka. The other was what you would imagine a Joth (Jock Goth) to be be like, his black hair long enough to cover his ears and stick out from his puffball hat. 

Nudged by the other, the shorter of the two cleared his throat, "Hey, Wendy, what's up?"

"Hi, Stan. Hi, Kyle," Wendy rolled her eyes, then playfully asked, "Are you here to introduce yourselves to [Y/N]? God, you guys are _so_ transparent!"

"Yeah... Sorry," the taller of the two apologized, before leaning down to offer you a handshake, "I'm Kyle Broflovski, welcome to South Park! It's actually a pretty nice town, you'll like it here."

What did you know about Kyle? He was one of Kenny's childhood friends. A smart and nice guy, but has a bit of a short fuse. Apparently his friend group ( _Team Stan? Weird name_ ) was constantly causing drama when they were growing up. Something about an adoptive, Canadian brother?

"And I'm Stan," the other waved, keeping space between you two, unlike Kyle.

Team Stan's namesake, huh? You heard that he was living in town with his freshly divorced mom, and working on his dad's weed farm. According to Kenny, Stan was the singer in a band they were part of when they were younger! He and Wendy dated throughout their childhood, and apparently broke up on decent terms when she came out as a lesbian.

"Hey, you like Billy Talent?" Stan asked, pointing to the band tee you were wearing under your jacket, his face lighting up, "They're pretty cool!"

"Yeah!" You chimed back, "They're like that perfect medium of emo and hard rock, where its not _emo_ emo, and still nice and angry!"

_Yes, Joth boy! Talk to me about my favorite, dumb, middle school bands!_

"Like, _Viking Death March_ , and _Devil In a Midnight Mass_? Ugh, so good!" You said, excitedly balling your fists in front of you.

You and Stan were interrupted by a sigh from Wendy, "If you are staying to talk, you guys might as well sit. Its weird with you standing over us." She seemed annoyed that her ~~[Y/N]~~ research time was being taken up.

Kyle took advantage of the pause in Stan's conversation to reinsert himself as they sat down, "So, [Y/N], you're going to Park County, right? You have your classes picked out, right?"

"Of course I do, there's only two days until the semester starts," you laughed and rolled your eyes. 

Kyle pulled out his phone, "Let's compare schedules! If we have some together, we can carpool or study together, you know?"

"Sure! I can probably use study help, to be honest," you told him, pulling out your own phone.

_'Really need' is more like it. The thought of fucking up my scholarship has me freaked out._

You waved Kyle closer, sharing your screen with him. The flaps of his hat brushed against your cheek as he compared the two screens.

**English 1: Monday, Wednesday, 2 - 3 PM**

**Drawing 1: Tuesday, 2 - 4:30 PM**

**Basic Speech Lecture: Wednesday, 4 - 6:30 PM**

**2D Studio: Thursday, 6 - 9 PM**

"Hey, we have English together! I figured we'd have something in common, since everyone needs the Gen Ed stuff," Kyle smiled at you, staying somewhat close to you.

He looked again and his lips quirked, before asking, "What's 2D Studio? That's pretty late."

You put your phone away, "Its part of the requirement for art degrees, they have you explore different types of 2D art, I think? I chose the time, I'm a bit of a night owl."

"Huh. Well, make sure to stay safe on your way home. The roads can get slippery," Kyle told you, concern written on his face. 

"Thanks, Kyle, I'll watch out for ice," you gave him a smile, before adding, "Hey, I have you in English, and Wendy in my dumb speech class, I'm collecting South Park's smart kids as my class partners!"

Wendy shot a smirk at Kyle, before returning to typing. She was clearly paying attention to the conversation, despite appearing to be engrossed in her work. 

"Speech class?" Stan asked. He had seemed mopey, but that seemed to catch his attention.

"Its a general education requirement," Wendy answered without looking up from her laptop, "Its basically a public speaking course."

"That's dumb," Stan stated bluntly, mirroring your own thoughts on the matter, "I'm still kinda jealous, though, college sounds cool, other than that."

You leaned over, trying to see Stan better from around Kyle, "Do you think you'll ever go, or..."

"I dunno, maybe?" Stan shrugged. His elbow was propped against his knee, and his cheek resting against his fist as he looked at you, "I don't know what I'd even go for. I have to work on my dad's farm, he has me so stressed out, I don't even have the time to think about anything else, it sucks."

"Aw, I'm sorry, Stan," you voiced. You might have come to South Park to get away from your family, but Stan was still stuck with his. 

Deciding that enough was enough, Wendy spoke up, patting the spot next to her, "[Y/N], I need your help."

"Ok," you responded as you left Kyle's side to go to Wendy's. 

"I just wanted you to proof read this for me," Wendy explained, highlighting a small paragraph.

Seemingly catching on, Stan asked as you finished reading the paragraph, "Were we interrupting you guys?"

"You kinda did," you admitted, before a lightbulb went off in you head, "Oh!"

You reached for your sketchbook, where it had been forgotten, "Can I draw you guys? I was running out of things, and all you have to do is sit there!" 

Stan and Kyle looked surprised, but mumbled in agreement, Kyle looking particularly flustered.

\---

"Dude, this weed fucking _sucks,_ I can barely feel it," Kenny admitted from her spot on her couch.

"Ok, thank you. I didn't want to be rude," you replied from the other end of the couch.

"If you get the chance, you need to try Stan's dad's shit, it's _really_ good," Kenny started, before adding, "Sorry, I though this would help."

"Its alright, Ken, its the thought that counts. I probably shouldn't get too fucked up anyways," you slumped against the armrest, your feet on the cushion with you, "Showing up a mess tomorrow won't be a good look."

"You know," Kenny began with a smirk, "if you're stressed out, there's something else we can try..." She winked.

"I'm not doing that Kenny," you responded deadpan.

"What, I was just going to suggest you talk it out?" She pretended to act confused, then shocked, dramatically covering her mouth, "Oh! Did you think... Wow, [Y/N], you have a _dirty_ mind, don't you?"

"Oh, shut it," you laughed, halfheartedly kicking at Kenny as she broke the act and snickered.

"Really, though, you can lay all that weird, [Y/N], school stress on me, I'll listen," Kenny told you sincerely.

You were about to take her up on that, when the door to Kenny's apartment suddenly swung open. You and Kenny looked up to see a slightly surprised Karen walk through the doorway, a boy with her.

"Oh, Kenny, I didn't know you where going to be home..." She awkwardly laughed as she closed the door behind them. 

"Yep, I'm home," Kenny answered, staring at the boy, unimpressed. 

Seeking escape from her sister's disapproval, she noticed you were there, as well. 

"Hey, [Y/N], this is Firkle, Firkle, this is [Y/N]," she introduced, hoping to lighten the air a bit.

"Hi?" You simply greeted the goth boy. He looked about a year or two younger than Karen, and looked almost emotionless.

"You're the conformist with the books, right?" Was all he said, clearly ruining Karen's hope of making things less weird.

_Jeez, this kid is way more committed to the whole goth thing than Karen._

"Ok! We'll see you two later, bye!" Karen hastily pulled Firkle past you and Kenny, and into her room. The door shut quickly, and goth music began to faintly play from within. 

"Well, he's talkative," you scoffed.

Kenny stopped glaring at the door, and ran her hands down her face and whined, her voice cracking, "She's bringing her stupid boyfriend home, now."

"Is he really _that_ bad?" You asked. Your first impression was not a good one, but he was, you assumed, part of the goth group she was close with. 

Kenny grumbled, before answering, "I... Ugh. I guess not. The goth kids really like her, so I don't think they'd let him do anything to her. I know _I_ did crazy shit when I was her age, and it freaks me out. She's growing up too fast."

"I get that," you responded, letting Kenny air it out.

Kenny continued, "And I guess she could do worse, it could be Ike Broflovski."

"Is that Kyle's brother? What's his deal?" 

"He's a little piece of shit, is his deal," she complained, "Now, if he was the guy she brought up, I woulda beaten the shit outa him."

_Damn, Ken!_

"I'll take your word for it," you responded, slightly surprised. 

The apartment was quiet for a moment, except for the faint music, until Kenny spoke up, "Hey, I have a question for you, while we are buzzed."

"Hm?" 

Kenny tapped her fingers against the armrest, before asking, "Do you really believe in all that supernatural stuff? You seemed pretty freaked out when Karen talked about trying out that witch shit."

"Honestly," you admitted, "I don't know. Kinda?" 

Kenny simply watched you, and you continued, "Like, I tried a bunch of that shit when I was younger. I tried to give my ex girlfriend the fucking plague, and that obviously did not work."

That got a chuckle from Kenny, and you keep talking, "But part of me still believes in it. Sometimes I worry, like what if I accidently cursed myself, or something stupid like that, and it comes backs to bite me."

"Damn, what all did you even do?" Kenny laughed, and you couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I'm pretty sure I '"sacrificed" a rotisserie chicken at one point, but I can't remember what for," you waited for Kenny's laughs to quiet down before continuing, "On the tamer side, I was really into stuff like sigils and seals, and stuff."

"What are those?"

"When it comes to your more mainstream chaos magic, basically, you make a little design with specific intention, and then you get rid of it. I always thought that part was stupid, though, its supposed to be all about letting the desire go, or something," you explained, before asking, "Hey, Ken, give me your hand."

With almost no hesitation, Kenny gave you her hand. You pulled a pen out of you pocket, clicked it, and began it draw on it. When you were done, you pulled back to reveal a design within a circle.

"Tada! I like the idea of putting them on skin. You're constantly reminded of the intention, as close as you can get to having a talisman, or something," you explained, clicking the pen and returning it to your pocket.

"Uh, what's it for?" Kenny asked, eyeing the scribbles on her hand.

"Protection," you explained, starting to feel embarrassed, "you seem like the type that gets so caught up in protecting others, that you forget about keeping yourself safe."

"Oh..." Kenny responded. You could swear you saw her blush a bit.

\---

"Jesus, Kenny, you're taking so long, what are you drawing?" You laughed, having been told to look away as Kenny draws on your hand, hunched over it.

"Ok, ok, done! You can look!"

You held up your hand to reveal a drawing of an anime girl from the neck up, "Who's that?"

"It's you!" Kenny proudly exclaimed.

"Aw, oh my god, that's adorable, Ken!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MC likes Billy Talent, because I say so u-u
> 
> Based MC's classes after my own from my first college semester hah
> 
> The explanation of sigils is very lacking I know, but this is South Park-World and there's gonna be so much more bastardized magic, just you wait <3


	5. Discussion (Spoilers?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright, thank you to all you that have read my silly little fic, you're all sweeties and I love you <3
> 
> Don't worry, we'll get back to actual chapters next update!

**Originally posted to Quotev

As a thank you for reading this and risking spoilers, have some [Y/N]'s (and a sneak-y peak for later) I doodled in class, tonight. Top right is basically just me tho. Tee shirts ripped from Halestorm's merch store and Wicked Clothes lol 

Just now realizing that the image quality is gonna suuuuck, so I made a Tumblr side blog for the story and uploaded it [here](http://followingthrowaway.tumblr.com/post/642149374090199040/upload-since-quotev-murders-image-quality-and-i) uwu

* * *

There's still a bit of set up left before Big Things (TM) happen, but I just wanted to get some stuff out before then! Mostly just "hey the story is gonna have this kinda stuff, in case you don't like that" and feedback related stuff. Spoiler warning, of course!!

The story will include a MC with powers, and it will be a big part of the story, as well as the other character's powers. There will be violence in the story, and MC will be Going Through It (nothing horribly physical, but it's worth warning imo). I will put warnings before chapters with that kinda stuff, so don't worry!

This will be a "reverse harem" fic (multiple characters will be romantically interested in the MC), with characters of all genders as love interests. Characters _will_ be gay (yada yada, chemicals in the water that turn all the girls gay for MC).

Next, feedback stuff. Is my writing understandable? Is there stuff that should be elaborated on more? And, what are characters that you guys would like to see in the story (as love interests, or otherwise)? 

If you want to stay anonymous, you can send an ask to the [tumblr](https://followingthrowaway.tumblr.com/) I set up. You don't need a Tumblr account to send them, and I won't know who you are!


	6. 5. English

Blood mention in this one. Nothing crazy though, just teenagers/young adults being dumb-dumbs

* * *

You pulled up in front of Kyle's house, and put your car in park. You two had decided on car pooling to class on Mondays, and you insisted on driving for the first class. You were a few minutes early, and sent Kyle a text.

**[Y/N]:** Hey I'm here! :)

You gave him a few minutes to respond, but got nothing back. Another text, no response.

_I am **not** going to be late for my first college class._

You got out of the car and made your way up to his front door and knocked. The door was answered by an excitable, red-headed woman.

"You're here for my Kyle, aren't you?!" You were barely able to respond to the affirmative when she ushered you inside.

"Come in, come in! I'm Shelia, Kyle was telling me about you," She led you into the living room, "I think he's still getting ready, I'll get him for you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Broflovski," you told her, taking the opportunity to be a little nosey and look around. There were some adorable pictures of what you assumed were a young Kyle, and a boy that was probably his little brother. 

As you stopped in the living room, Mrs. Broflovski continued to the base of the stairs, and yelled up, "Kyle, bubby, your little girl friend's here!"

_Oh man, she's one of those moms..._

Almost immediately, you could hear a door violently swinging open and the thumbing of feet from upstairs. Some more door opening and closing, and a red faced Kyle come running down the stairs, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He rushed past his mom and began pushing you towards the front door.

"Bye, Ma! Let's go [Y/N]!" Kyle stopped only to quickly put his shoes on before getting you out the door. As it shut, his mom called out for you to drive safe. 

"Hey, calm down, Kyle, she's not that bad," you laughed as you two got into the car. Kyle wasn't wearing the hat he had on the other day, and looked like he had tried to put product in his hair.

_Aw, dressing up? Cute._

"Dude, its embarrassing," Kyle huffed, and checked his phone once he was settled in, "Shit, I missed your texts, sorry."

You started up the car and pulled away, "Its alright, I was worried you were napping, or something."

You paused for a moment, before teasing, "So, _bubby_ , your mom said you were talking about me?"

Kyle's face had toned down after you had left the house, but that made it heat back up, and he hastily explained, "Just that you were new in town, and that you seemed cool. My mom jumps to conclusions."

"Oookay..." You responded, before not-so-subtly explaining, "That's good, we, like, just met, I'm not really looking for anything like that. I kinda have a lot on my plate, right now."

_I really have to start advertising the whole "I just moved here, and I'm not looking for a relationship, right now" thing, huh?_

The next few minutes were a little awkward, and you could feel that your own face had heated up. The college was just outside of South Park, so the drive was not a long one. Kyle broke the silence by telling you which turn to make, then continued.

"Hey, me and the guys," he added, "and Kenny, wanted to meet up later today. You wanna come? We're probably gonna play video games, and just hang out."

"Sure! That's you, Stan, Kenny, and..." you trailed off.

"Eric Cartman," Kyle answered, "Have you met him, yet?"

"Uh, kinda?" You replied, giving a quick rotation of your hand, "I ran into him at the grocery store, but we didn't talk or anything."

You were pulling into a parking space near the building your class was in. 

"Fair warning, Cartman can be a bit of an asshole, but we'll make sure he's not too much of an ass to you," Kyle reassured you as you entered the building and started looking for the classroom. 

"I'll be fine! I can deal with an asshole," you laughed, "Oh, I think its this way."

Kyle nodded at the direction, and explained, "No, Cartman's, like, _really_ a handful. You need to keep an eye on him."

_Well, I guess you have to be a special level of deranged to purposely **chose** to run around at night in a raccoon costume._

"Alright, alright," you jokingly put your hands up in defense, as you entered the classroom.

The room was comprised of rows of tables, and sat next to Kyle at one of them. You turned to him to make a comment about the room, you noticed him pulling out a planner, writing supplies, and a laptop. The teacher began addressing the class as you pulled out your own dinky notebook. Kyle was already typing things!

_He has so many highlighters, why does he need so many highlighters?! Do I need highlighters? I barely even took notes in high school._

A look around showed you that Kyle was not the only one much more prepared than you. The teacher began ice breakers, having everyone introduce themselves. 

_Oh my god, I'm so fucked. My parents were right, I'm so unprepared._

The introductions made their way to Kyle.

"I'm Kyle, I'm a freshman and an education major, and I grow succulents and cacti as a hobby," Kyle introduced himself with a smile.

Your turn. You stopped your lowkey panic, and introduced yourself with a level, happy voice, "I'm [Y/N], I'm a freshman, and I'm an art major. I recently moved to Park County from [State/Town]."

You did your best to follow along with the teacher as the class went over the syllabus, and tried taking notes when the discussion turned to the required readings for next class. Luckily for you, class ended a little early, and the teacher released you.

"Jeez, homework on the first day, huh?" You tried to joke as you and Kyle left the building.

_A reading, and short paper? Ugh._

"Well, we aren't in high school, anymore," Kyle said, unfazed by the burden of school work, "If you want, we can work on it together, tomorrow?"

"Aw, thank you, Kyle," you gushed, before remembering, "Shit, I have work after class."

"What time do you get off?" Kyle asked as he got into your car. 

"Closing shift, so nine."

Kyle seemed bummed out, "And, before your class?"

"I don't get up before twelve," you half-joked with a wink and a finger gun. You started up the car and headed back to South Park.

Kyle seemed to debate with himself, before deciding, "If you're ok with a late study secession, we can do it after your shift. You said you were a night owl, right?"

_I don't care if he's only doing this because of a stupid crush, I need to take advantage of having a smart study partner while I can._

"If its not past your bedtime," you joked, "That would be awesome!"

\---

Kyle had you park near South Parks' church and graveyard, and led you to where the other's were waiting by Stark's Pond. You couldn't help but admire the forest as you walked through it, the fallen leaves crunching underfoot. It was nice to see some semblance of fall in the town, instead of premature winter. 

The forest cleared to reveal the pond. Kenny and Stan stood bored around a bench in front of the water, with Cartman sitting on it. You almost didn't recognize Kenny, she had a large, orange parka on with the hood up, concealing the majority of her face. 

"Kyle! [Y/N]!" Stan perked up and called out when he saw you two coming down the forest path. Kenny waved excitedly and called out what you assumed was a greeting.

As you and Kyle got closer to the bench, Cartman looked you up and down, and stood up, proclaiming, "Oh, _hell_ no! No one said anything about bringing her! It's bad enough that _Kinny's_ here, we don't need more chicks!" 

Kenny huffed and crossed her arms, her eyebrows furrowed, and let out what was probably a muffled "fuck you."

"Watch it, Cartman," Stan warned. 

Kyle joined in, "Dude, calm down. It's not like we were gonna do anything other than talk and throw rocks, and _maybe_ play video games at Stan’s."

"Yeah," Cartman exclaimed, "That's _guy_ shit! Chicks will just ruin it!" 

You rolled your eyes as Cartman and Kyle started arguing, and looked around at the forest and pond.

This place is so cool!

"Let's play hide and seek! The forest is probably filled with hiding spots," you couldn't help smile as you looked back to the group. 

"See! That's a baby game! At _least_ call it Man Hunt," Cartman gestured towards you, but his protests went ignored. 

Kenny said something excitedly, and Stan added, "Yeah, me too!"

"Too bad, Fatass, we're playing hide and seek!" Kyle told Cartman as he started backing away, slowly, a smirk on his face, "You have to count."

You and the others waited for moment, watching Cartman. Realizing he was outnumbered, he huffed, closed his eyes, and started counting. With that, the group scattered.

You quickly ran back to the trees, pausing when you reached the edge to turn around and yell out, your hands cupped around your mouth, "You have to count to one hundred!" 

You heard Cartman respond with a "fuck you," before he continued the count. You only took a few steps into the woods, when you noticed Stan make his way over to you, and grab your wrist, pulling you deeper into the woods.

"You're gonna get lost in here, stick with me!" Stan explained, as you tried not to trip over tree roots. You held back laughs as Stan did exactly that.

You and Stan slowed to a stop by a large tree, and you took in the surroundings.

"I wish I had a forest like this growing up. You guys must have had _so_ much fun in here, as kids," you told Stan in wonder, keeping you voice low, as not to give your place away.

"Yeah... Being in here makes me feel like a kid again, like everything is a little less shitty," Stan told you with a smile. He hadn't gotten the "keep your voice down" memo, however. 

"Shh!" you put a finger to you lips, chastising Stan, "Cartman's gonna hear us." 

"Don't worry, it'll take him forever to count to one hundred, you kinda screwed him over with that," Stan laughed at Cartman's expense, and leaned against the tree. 

"Pfft, be nice," you playfully punched Stan's arm.

"Hey," Stan started pulling his phone and earbuds out, awkwardly trying to untangle them, "I found this song, and I thought you might like it?"

"What is it?" You took the earbud from Stan, noticing a slight blush on his face.

_Oh man, I see, now. This town is going to ruin me. I can't deal with all these attractive people crushing on me._

Nonetheless, you still put the earbud in, inching closer so that you could share them with Stan. You two were distracted, not paying attention to the crunching of leaves behind the tree. Barely a few notes of the song were able to play, when suddenly, arms reached around your waist, and stepped back, lifting you up into the air. 

"Dude, what the fuck!" Stan exclaimed.

Before Stan could do anything, you felt the adrenaline take over and you did the first thing that came to mind. You sharply threw your head back, smashing the back of your skull against your assailant with a smack. You were roughly dropped onto the ground, and the assailant took a few unsteady steps, before tripping and falling as well.

"You can't just grab people, Cartman!" Stan pulled you back up.

You turned to look behind you to see Cartman sitting in the leaf litter, his hand covering his nose. He pulled it away to reveal blood gushing out of it.

" _Ow_! You fucking... bitch..." a shocked expression was on his face as he looked from the blood on his hand and up to you. 

_Holy shit!_

"Oh shit, Stan, help me get him up," you looked to Stan, only to see him pale, his eyes avoiding Cartman.

"I don't need any fucking help!" Cartman grumbled, getting to his feet, "Stan's a pussy around blood."

_Thanks, Stan._

"You should lean your head forward," you reached a hand out, "and keep pinching-"

"Don't fucking touch me, I know what to do," he glared at you as you pulled your hand away.

"Let's go back to the pond, I'll text Kenny and Kyle," Stan offered, clearly still unnerved. He took you by the shoulders, and steered away and in the direction of the pond. He pulled his phone out and started texting. Cartman trailed behind the two of you.

Kenny was already at the pond when you got there, leaning against the back of the bench. She took her hood down when she saw Cartman and let out a laugh, "Holy shit, what did you do?"

"Its not fucking funny, _Kinny_ ," Cartman grumbled, glaring at her. 

Rustling in the woods announced an annoyed Kyle's return, "Ok, there's no way Cartman counted up to one hundred."

His eyes widened when he saw Cartman, "Oh my god, happened? What did Cartman do?"

"He snuck up from behind and grabbed me!" You explained. Now that the adrenaline was gone, you were just feeling embarrassed about your overreaction. 

"And she headbutted him," Stan added with a slight smirk, having gotten a little more under control. 

Kenny laughed even more, Kyle joining in. 

"Its not funny, Kahl!" Cartman whined from behind you.

"Alright, alright, I think that's enough..." you tried to defuse the situation, crossing your arms.

Kenny pulled herself together and wiped a tear from her eye. She walked over and slung an arm around your shoulder, and lifted her phone up, "[Y/N]-selfie time!"

"Ok?" you gave the camera a halfhearted peace sign. You barely caught that Cartman was visible in the background. 

"Awesome," Kenny pulled away, and began typing.

"What was that, _Kinny_?" Cartman asked suspiciously. 

Kenny began slowly backing away with a smirk, dictating what she was typing, "[Y/N] fucked up Cartman l... o... l..." 

Cartman charged after Kenny, who ran off cackling. 

"Should we stop him?" You asked Stan and Kyle. Regardless of why, you'd still feel bad if Kenny ended up hurt.

"Kenny will be fine, this is normal," Stan huffed, and rested his forearm on your shoulder. 

_I don't think this is normal, Stan._

Kyle eyed Stan, "Hey, [Y/N], I think you have some of Cartman's blood on your hand."

You looked down to see that there was, in fact, a few drops of blood on the back of your hand. Stan subtly recoiled from you, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Kyle took his backpack off, and went through it, taking out a travel pack of hand wipes.

"Thanks," you took a wipe that he offered and cleaned off your hand. It wasn't that bad, but you appreciated the help.

Kenny came running back to the three of you, clearly faster than Cartman. She hid behind you from the oncoming Cartman, who slowed to a stop a few feet in front of the group. 

_Oh hell, no Kenny, I'm not going to get bull rushed for you!_

"You two get it out of your systems?" Kyle asked.

Cartman simply stared over your shoulder at Kenny for a moment, hand still holding his nose, before directing his attention to you, whining, "[Y/N], drive me home!"

"You're gonna get blood all over [Y/N]'s ca-" Kyle started to argue, before you cut him off.

"Fine," you sighed out. It didn't matter what everyone said about Cartman, you couldn't help but feel guilty. You barely knew the guy, and you busted up his nose! And it was probably best to at least try to stay on his good side.

"We'll come with you," Stan stated, putting himself in between you and Cartman.

"She parked by the church," Kyle explained, and led the way to the trail the two of you had taken earlier.

Kenny stayed close to you as the group trudged down the forest trail and to your car, keeping an eye out for Cartman.

"Oh! Shotgun!" She called out when the car come into view, to the annoyance of her childhood friends.

"I'm the one bleeding out, _Kinny_ , I get shotgun!" Cartman whined.

You unlocked the car, letting the group settle the conflict on their own. You weren't going to risk inserting yourself.

"No fair, you can't stick us in the back with Cartman," Stan argued.

"Yeah, you're the smallest, just let Cartman have it," Kyle backed them up.

"Fine," Kenny whined, getting stuck in the middle of the back row, with Stan and Kyle, as Cartman got in the passenger seat. 

The drive was awkward, your car stuffed to brim. The only sound was the radio playing quietly for the sake of noise, and Cartman directing you to his house. A woman was in his yard, tending to flowers when you pulled up. You all got out of the car, as the woman, likely his mom, noticed the car, and gasped when she saw Cartman.

"Eric, sweetie, what happened!" her shock turned to anger, and she turned to the rest of the group, "What did you children do?"

You all flinched a bit and Team Stan stumbled for an explanation. There was only one thing you could think to do...

_Action!_

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cartman," you forced your eyes to tear up and wavered your voice, "It's my fault."

Mrs. Cartman's face softened, and you sniffled for added effect, "Oh, it's alright, dear."

She sighed, "Come on in, kids, I have some cookies in the oven," and took Cartman inside.

Team Stan, minus Cartman, seemed genuinely concerned, and escorted you inside. 

"I'll be right back, I have to get the first aide kit, and a new shirt for you, hon," Mrs. Cartman told her son, leaving your group in the kitchen. 

"Ok," Cartman admitted from where his mom sat at the kitchen table, "that was a little impressive. She hasn't fallen for fake tears in ages."

"What?" Stan asked, as you smiled and wiped away your crocodile tears.

Kenny let out a impressed whistle, "Nice, quick thinking."

"Dude, you can just cry on command? You had me worried!" Kyle half whispered.

Stan smirked, "I wish you moved here sooner, we could have gotten away with _so_ much!"

"Hey, I'm not making a habit out of this," you smiled, "you'll have to get yourself out of trouble yourselves, from here on out."

You went back to acting upset when Cartman's mom came back downstairs. After Cartman was sent into the bathroom to clean himself up, she sent you and Team Stan into the basement to play videogames, a heaping plate of cookies in tow.

_I think I can put up with Cartman if it means being waited on by his mother._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see one (1) episode from season 2 that says Stan doesn't like blood, and I hold onto it forever UuU


	7. 6. Drawing

[Music](//www.youtube.com/embed/e15Uz_7fEms)

_Now **this** is the type of college class I'm hyped for!_

You were the first one to arrive in the large, open art studio where your Drawing 1 class was being held. You even beat the professor (although, it was likely they had opened up the room and were waiting elsewhere)! The room was filled with a semi-circle of rows of small drafting tables pointed towards the front, with its nooks and crannies tastefully adorned with random objects and draped fabrics, which you could safely assume were for still life projects. You popped out one of your earbuds as you walked over to one of the tables, and perched on its stool. You still had a good several minutes before class started. While you waited for the rest of the class to show up, you took out your sketchbook and began doodling thumbnails for future paintings.

_Is it pathetic that this is the happiest I've been in a while? That just sitting in this room is giving me the motivation to work?_

Of course, you hadn't seen the damage the supply list would do to your bank account, yet, but you were going to ride this high while you still could. You got quite a few mock ups onto the page when another student walked in. The well-put-together blonde looked around the room, and spotted you. 

_"There's something in the shadows… In the corner of your room… A dark heart is beating… And waiting for you-"_

You paused your music and removed the remaining earbud when you realized he was coming your way. He looked like the sociable type, a cute, polite smile across his face.

"Hi, I'm Gary! Is it alright if I sit here?" he asked, patting the table next to yours. 

"I don't mind," you told him, and watched as he took his seat, "I'm [Y/N]."

He turned on his stool to face you, and pointed at the filled sketchbook page in front of you, "Are you an artist? That's so cool! I'm just taking this class for the elective credit."

"Aw, thanks!" you responded, "If you don't mind me asking, why'd you choose this class?"

"I like to try new things, and I doodle a bit, so I thought it would be fun to improve on that," Gary explained. He added, starting to look a little bashful, "And, I'm thinking of being a Creative Writing Major, so art classes seem like a good fit."

"Hey, fellow creative minds!" you chimed with a tilt of your head.

_God, this guy is so cute!_

You and Gary made small talk as the class and professor filled the room. He seemed like a genuinely sweet guy.

\---

The class took up the full time slot, and consisted of ice breaker introductions, supply list explanations, and supply demos. The supply list looked daunting, but you pushed that out of mind, for the moment. As you and Gary left the studio and walked down the halls and out of the building, you looked to him.

"So, Gary," you not-so-innocently began, placing a hand on his arm, "you live in South Park, right? I actually just moved here a few weeks ago. We should hang out sometime!"

To your satisfaction, you caught a faint blush go across his cheeks momentarily.

_The Good o' [Y/N] Charm works again!_

"Sure, I'd love to! Here, let me get your phone number!" he fished his phone out, opened it to his contacts, and handed it to you. 

"Totally," you stopped and plugged your info in, and handed the phone back. You noticed your surroundings, and spoke up, pointing to the street where you had parked, "My car is right over here. I'd love to chat some more, but I have to get to work."

Gary looked bummed, but bounced back easily, "Aw, I guess it can't be helped! I'll text you, and we can figure out a time to hang out." 

You gave a wave and bid Gary farewell as you climbed into your car, and he went off to, presumably, go to his own ride. Your phone buzzed before you could start up the car.

Gary: Hey, there, [Y/N]! This is Gary, it was really nice getting to meet you :)

You responded with a smiling emoji, and noticed you had another new message, which had came while your were in class.

Kyle: I'm so sorry, [Y/N], I'm going to have to cancel our study session, tonight. I had some personal stuff come up.

You sent back a quick "its ok." You were disappointed that you had lost your homework helper, and that you would have to do it on your own, now, but you would be lying if you said you didn't expect it. Kyle didn't seem like the type to stay up past his bedtime. 

You had a few minutes before you needed to be at Tweak Bros, just enough time to stop at home and eat something. Nothing fancy, just cheap ramen and an energy drink, the latter of which you brought to work to finish off.

Today was planned to be a shift with Token and Tweek, with Token's shift ending halfway through yours, as usual, but when you entered the building, Token was the only one there, slumped over the counter between customers. A couple customers took up tables. Token shot up when he heard the bell ring. He looked exhausted, slight bags visible under his eyes.

"Hi, [Y/N]. No boards today, we're covering for Tweek. You can take the register," he told you, standing and straightening up. 

"Oh, is he ok?" you asked him, joining him behind the counter and putting your apron on, and added, concerned, "And are _you_ alright? You look kinda rough."

"Well, uh," Token awkwardly coughed into his fist, "a bunch of the guys and us were up really late last night, partying. And Tweek twisted his ankle during it."

_I wonder if Kyle was at the party? If he's as messed up as Token is, I don't blame him for bailing on me._

"Sooo..." you ribbed, "you're super hungover, and Tweek got so fucked up he hurt himself?"

"Yeah," Token answered, looking pained, "We really went overboard, and he tried climbing a tree. And fell."

The bell above the door rang, and two young men entered.

You recognized one as Craig, whom you had very briefly met once before, when he was getting coffee. You hadn't gotten the chance to really talk to him, that time, other than introduce yourself. You _were_ aware that he was Tweek's ex, though. Much like Token, he looked worse for wear.

_That **could** just be his face, though. _

The other you recognized from Coonstagram, and from what your friends told you, to be Jimmy. You were pretty sure he was running the paper at your college. Impressive for a Freshman, if so. He didn't look as tired as Token and Craig, but the guy could normally be bouncing off the walls, for all you knew. 

"Hey, guys," Token called out from beside you, as they came over to the counter.

"Hi, Craig, and... Jimmy, right?" you greeted them. 

"And you're [Y/N]. You know, we just met, but I can already feel something b-buh- _ **brewing** _between us," jimmy told you with a wink. 

You rolled your eyes, and snorted out a small laugh, and shot back, "Wow, Jimmy, you sure are a **_tea_** se."

Token shot Jimmy an annoyed look, "Come on man, don't flirt with her. Just order." 

"Yeah," Craig agreed, "move over dude, I need to get home soon, my mom will kill me if I'm late for dinner."

"Relax, fellas," Jimmy laughed, and moved out of Craig's way, "we're allowed to have _some_ fun."

"Hi, [Y/N]," Craig quickly greeted you, before placing his order. You handed Craig's marked up cup to Token, and rung him up. He shuffled down the counter, and Jimmy took his spot and placed his order. 

"I'm gonna guess..." you looked to Jimmy and Craig as they waited for their orders, "that you guys were partying with Token and Tweek, last night?"

You caught their eyes flash over to Token quickly, looking somewhat confused.

_Hm?_

"Yeah, we were parting all night," Jimmy spoke up after a few seconds.

You were going to ignore all that, for now.

"Well," you huffed, "can you guys try to talk Kyle out of it next time, he was going to help me with our English homework, tonight."

Craig's eyes narrowed and he spoke out in his deadpan voice, "You were going to meet up with Kyle. At night. Alone."

"Dude..." Token simply said, handing Craig his drink.

Your face heated up a little and you put up your hands defensively, "Ok, ok, ok, I know, not smart! _But,_ we were gonna meet up at the college's 24 hour library, so it's not like I would have been alone with him."

"If you need some late night study help, all you have to do is let me know," Jimmy teased, then added more seriously, "we might have the same professor and assignments."

_Another cute study buddy for my collection, huh?_

"Gimme your hand," you told Jimmy. He did as you told, and you popped the cap off the permanent marker you used for orders, and scribbled your number onto it.

"S-sc-score!" Jimmy admired his hand.

You noticed Craig watching you two, "I'd give you my number, too Craig, but I already have yours." You shot him a wink and a finger gun.

"How do you have my number? That's creepy."

"Tweek gave it to her," Token spoke out as he made Jimmy's order.

"Still kinda creepy," Craig asserted. 

"Here, I'll text you, so you'll have mine," you laughed and pulled out your phone, sending out the text, "no longer creepy."

Token handed Jimmy's drink off to him. Craig goaded Jimmy out of the building, giving you and Token a wave.

"See you around, [Y/N]," Jimmy cheerfully called out as they left. The door dinged as it closed behind them.

Just you, Token, and two customers enraptured in their own conversation were left in the store. You pulled out cleaning supplies and went over to wipe off the tables not in use. Craig and Jimmy's responses earlier were nagging at you. You looked up to see Token at the counter, plugging away at his phone. You weren't going to push the issue, at least for now, it couldn't be that important. You rejoined Token at the counter once you had finished.

"Hey, [Y/N], what would you do if the town was attacked by something crazy, like zombies, or something?" Token asked you, catching you off guard. 

_Where did **that** come from?_

"I dunno, get in my car and hide out somewhere, maybe. Depends on the kinda zombie, I guess? How come?" You answered, giving him a puzzled look.

"You live in South Park, now, you need to be prepared for some crazy things," Token told you sincerely. 

"Oh... Ok?"

\----

You threw your head back dramatically, thumping it against the wall above your couch. Your laptop sat in your lap, opened up to the wall of text that you just finished reading. 

_Hard part, over._

Your phone buzzed. You had a text from Craig.

**Craig** : hey do u have pics of fatass's nose from when you beat him up? he took kenny's down

**[Y/N]** : No lol

**[Y/N]** : And I didn't beat him up, it was an accident

**Craig** : sure, [Y/N]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry sorry, short chapter, longer than normal wait. Crazy stuff has been going on all week ='0


	8. 7. Speech

Slight warning for this one: nothing really happens, but there is a very brief implication that transphobia exists lol

* * *

Part of you was thankful that you and Kyle agreed not to carpool on Wednesdays; although you shared English, you both had other Wednesday classes, and you would both be sitting around waiting for the other while they were in class. And, you were still a little salty about him bailing on you to nurse his hangover, last night. But, you were letting it go, you still got the paper done, fine, after all.

Kyle had arrived to class before you, and you noticed he had saved you the seat next to his, using his backpack. He quickly moved it when he saw you walk in, and gave you a small wave. He was wearing an outfit like the one he had on when you first met him.

_Do college professors let you wear hats in class? God, being an adult is so cool._

"Hey," you took the spot next to him, and began pulling out the items you needed for today's class.

"Hey," he responded back, then rubbed the back his neck awkwardly, "I'm sorry about last night, you were alright, right?" He seemed sincerely sorry.

"Yeah, it's alright," you gave him a smile, trying to put his mind at ease, "I mean, it ended up just one of those long winded, "tell me about yourself" assignments." 

"That's good," he returned the smile, "It _was_ kinda useless, huh?"

You looked to him, and tilted your head, "So, what did you guys do the other night? It had to be _wild_ to put you out of commission for a full day!"

Kyle huffed out an awkward, forced laugh, "Uh, Token called us up a little after you left Cartman's house, and wanted to hang out. It ended up getting a little out of hand, I guess?"

_I want to know what happened there, but I don't think I'm at a high enough Friendship Level to pry further..._

With the professor standing up and prepping the board, for now, you settled with, "you need to tell me next time you guys have one of those crazy parties, it sounds like fun."

"Sure," Kyle gave another awkward laugh, as the professor began to address the class.

As you sat in class, your phone buzzed. You checked it, not-so-subtly hiding it behind your notebook. The group chat with some of the local girls that Heidi invited you to was lighting up.

**Heidi** : Hi, girls! Dovahkiin just let me know she couldn't make it, tonight :(

**Marjorine** : Aw! To both?

**Heidi** : Both. I'm getting snacks, and need a headcount, any other changes?

**Kenny** : Im going to have to bail on the sleepover but i can still make it to the mall! Boss called me in last minute =/

**Bebe** : What! I was supposed to give you highlights Ken!!! >:o

**Kenny** : I know, im sorry! Ill have to take a raincheck :(

**Bebe** : SIGH. Wendy? Marji? Are you two dumping the party too?

**Wendy** : No. Why are you singling us out? 

**Bebe** : You two also get caught up in work a lot...

A few of the other girls chimed in that they were still coming, as did you. You were excited for tonight, its been ages since you've been to a slumber party! And, you were finally going to meet a handful of the girls in person. If you didn't know better, you would think Wendy might had been purposely keeping you away from them. 

You pulled up your texts with Kenny, and messaged her. You two had planned on you being her ride, tonight.

**[Y/N]:** Hey, Ken!! You still want me to drive you, right? I can drop you off at home after the mall

**Kenny** : Yeah that would be awesome! Is it ok if you give Karen a ride home too? She works at the mall and her shift will be ending bout when we leave

**[Y/N]** : Of course!!

**Kenny** : Thank yoouuuuu sweet cheeks 😘

\---

"You have an hour until your next class, right?" Kyle asked you as you left the English room. 

"Mhm," you hummed in response, "I was going to check out the cafeteria, or café, or whatever they call it. You wanna come with me?"

Kyle complained about his little brother as you two walked to the building that housed the campus' cafeteria and you got your food. You got yourself some crappy looking chicken nuggets and a [caffeinated drink], and managed to find a few, free armchairs seated around a small coffee.

"... and he's started ratting me out when he thinks I'm leaving him out of something cool!" he threw his hands up as he sunk into the small armchair, "Like, he told my mom I was out late the other night, and got me chewed out!"

You took the chair directly across him, ever the observer, silently listening. When he stopped talking, you asked, "you sure he isn't just jealous that you aren't hanging out with him?" 

"No! He's just... just..." he seemed to be looking for the right word, "a little dildo!"

You snorted, and heard a voice come from behind you, "Jeez, Kyle, what are you talking about with my poor [Y/N]?"

You looked up to see Wendy set her backpack on the ground next to yours. She hopped up on the arm of your chair, her legs crossed and pointed in towards yours, as if she wanted them to be in your view. 

"Hey, Wends!" you chimed.

"Uh, hi, Wendy," Kyle greeted her halfheartedly, "you're here early."

Wendy innocently checked her nails, "I wanted to get some _one on one_ time with [Y/N], before us and the girls hang out tonight. I figured she'd be in here."

Kyle's eye's narrowed momentarily, " _You_ and the girls are hanging out, _tonight_?"

You missed the odd tone of judgement in his voice, and exclaimed excitedly, your hands balled in front of you, "Yeah! We're gonna terrorize the mall until closing time, and crash at Heidi's! Her parents are out of town, so it'll be super cool, and I finally get to meet more of the girls!"

"[Y/N] is _very_ excited about tonight," Wendy pointed out to Kyle, flashing him a wide, forced smile. Kyle dropped it, quickly. 

\---

"I'll see you at the mall!" You yelled out and waved to Wendy as you left your first Speech Lecture, and headed to your car. 

When you got back to your apartment, you finished packing your overnight bag. Since you were coming back to bring Kenny and Karen home, you decided to leave it here, for now. Once you finished, you knocked on Kenny's door.

She greeted you with a gaped toothed smile, "Hey, you ready to go?"

"Hell, yeah!" you smiled, and dragged Kenny out and to your car. 

"Ya know, it sucks I have to work," Kenny sighed dramatically as she got in your car, "I'm missing out on crazy-slumber-party-[Y/N]." 

"You and Karen already got slumber party me," you swerved. 

"You know that's not what I me-"

"Seat belt," you cut her off. No one was dying in your car, if you could help it.

Kenny gave you directions to the mall as you drove. You couldn't help but be amazed when you pulled into the parking lot. You hadn't gotten a good look at it, before, and were expecting it to be a lot smaller, but this was a real mall! You followed Kenny into a large food court.

Not bad for a cow town.

A gaggle of girls were congregated in the middle of the food court, giggling and gossiping. Kenny called out to them and waved her hand high up in the air, and they all looked up and hollered and waved back in return. 

_Oh, wow. These girls are a lot more... girly... than I thought. I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb!_

As if they could read your mind, Kenny put a hand on your back and guided you towards them, and Wendy broke off from the group to meet you halfway, and pulled you towards them. Sandwiched between them, they introduced you to the rest of the group. Other than Wendy and Kenny, you hadn't gotten the chance to meet any of them, in person, yet, but you at least recognized them from Coonstagram, as well as gossip Wendy and Kenny fed you.

Heidi. A short girl with long, ash-brown hair, and the host of tonight's slumber party. An absolute sweetheart from the messages you two shared. 

Bebe. A busty blonde, and Wendy's childhood bestfriend. You hadn't had the chance to talk with her much, but she is very prompt when it came to liking and commenting on your Coonstagram posts.

Nichole. A relatively nerdy girl (at least, compared to the rest of the group). She is apparently Token and Kyle's ex, but you couldn't imagine how they could stop dating such a sweet, cute looking girl.

Marjorine. A timid blonde, and Kenny's bestfriend. She seemed like a sweet girl. 

Red. A sharp looking girl with long, shiny, red hair. She could step on you, and you would thank her for it. 

Annie. A small girl with a mop of curly, blonde hair. You didn't know much about her, other than that she is close with Heidi.

The girls crowded around you once you were introduced, pulling you into group hug, each one complimenting you, and expressing their joy from being able to finally meet you. 

_Ok, I feel a lot better, now, these girls are all so nice!_

"I'm psyched to meet you guys, too!" you happily returned their enthusiasm. 

When the girls separated from you, Kenny placed a hand on your soldier, and spoke to the others, "I hate to take her away from you so soon, but me and [Y/N] are gonna go say hi to Karen, real quick. We'll be right back!"

Despite their protest, the girls let Kenny lead you away from the group, to a pretzel stand on the edge of the food court. Karen stood behind the counter, clearly bored, but lit up when when she saw the two of you coming over. The bright uniform she had on was a strange sight, compared to her normal look.

"Hey, Kenny, [Y/N]!" she greeted you both as you came up to the stand, then looked to you specifically, "thanks you taking me home, tonight. My friend was going to give me a ride, but her parents went out and took the car with them."

"No problemo, kiddo," you assured her, giving her dorky finger guns, earning an eye roll from Karen, and a snicker form Kenny.

"Ok, you're starting to get embarrassing," Karen looked around quickly, then grabbed two cups of pretzel bites from the stand's case, sliding it towards you and Kenny, "here, now shoo, before anyone sees."

"Thank you, Kare-bear!" Kenny cooed, making Karen glare at her. 

However, the annoyance washed from Karen's face, as she suddenly remembered something, "Oh! [Y/N], I have something for you," she dipped down under the counter, where she likely was keeping her purse, and popped back up, handing small, cloth baggie to you.

"Oooo, a charm bag?" you accepted it from her.

Karen nodded, "My friend is also into witchy stuff, and she helped me make it! It's the general protection type of stuff, nothing too fancy."

"Aw, Karen, that's so cute-" Kenny cooed again, and Karen's face flushed.

"Ok, _big sis_ , let's get back to the girls," you told Kenny, starting to pull her away, "thanks, Karen, see ya later."

While you were visiting with Karen, the girls had relocated to the entrance into the main mall. When you and Kenny rejoined them, you were immediately grabbed up and whisked from store to store. Shopping and clothes weren't really your thing, but you couldn't help but get caught up in the other's energy, and found yourself having a fun time!

"Girls!" Bebe exclaimed as your group exited one of the stores, an idea popping into her head, "I bet the department stores have Homecoming dresses in, let's try them on!"

The rest of the girls chorused in agreement, and began moving like a swarm to one of the mall's large clothing stores. 

_Dresses?_

Dresses _really_ weren't your thing. But, any reservations you had were gone when you realized that it meant you would be trying on dresses with a bunch of cute girls.

Just as Bebe predicted, the selection of homecoming dresses was expansive. As the group descended upon the racks, you tried looking for one that you could try on. Most of the dresses were bright and flashy, and even if you were only wearing it for a few moments, you at least wanted it to be somewhat on brand! You grabbed the first simple, black dress in your size you could find. Noticing Wendy only a couple racks away, you joined her, as you waited for the rest of the group.

"Any luck?" you asked her.

"Kind of," the shorter girl answered, "I think its a toss up between these three." She pulled a purple dress off the rack, and positioned it so you could see it, then held up a pink and a blue dress.

"Maybe the pink one? It matches your beret," you suggested.

"Pink, it is, then!" she chimed with a smile, then saw the dress you were holding, "you found a dress? I figured you'd pass, since you're kind of a tomboy."

"I didn't even think sitting it out was a possibility," you admitted with a laugh.

"Yeah, we would have forced you into one," Wendy told you with a wink.

You and Wendy walked to the dressing rooms to wait for the rest of the girls. Bebe had beat everyone else, and stood near the dressing room doors with her phone in hand, waiting. 

"Oh, that pink is so _cute_!" she told Wendy, then asked you, "[Y/N], what did you pick out?"

You held out the pain dress you found, and you could see Bebe's face fall into a look of disappointment, before the expression morphed into something else, and she sighed, dramatically placing the back of her hand against her forehead, "Oh, a black dress... That reminds me so much of my ex, Henrietta..."

_Gay!? Of course **Wendy's** bestfriend is going to be gay, why am I surprised?_

"Oh, that's rough, sorry," you apologized, staying professional.

"You can't call her your ex, you barely dated," Red chided as she and Annie joined the three of you.

"Can too!" Bebe retorted, her face turning red, and her hinting not going over as well as she planned.

Bebe and Red shot back and forward for a bit, and the rest of the girls trickled over to the spot. Kenny was the last to arrive. 

"Hey, [Y/N], I found the _perfect_ dress for you," she announced, and, from behind her dress, she pulled out and presented what had to be the skimpiest Homecoming dress in the entire store. 

"OH MY GOD YES!" Bebe shoved Red aside to check the dress out, "[Y/N], you _have_ to wear this!"

Several of the other girls squealed in agreement, and you felt your face heat up.

_I am **not** wearing that..._

"O-M-G, you'll look _so_ hot in this!" Wendy told you, joined in.

"O-okay..." you involuntarily conceded. Kenny sauntered over and handed you the skimpy dress and you sighed, "I see you're proud of yourself."

"Oh, _very_ ," she teased and winked, "it's your size, right?"

You checked, then looked it over, "Yep... How would this even pass a dance's dress code? Jesus Christ." 

"Alright, girls, battle plan, time!" Bebe addressed the group, glancing over to the changing rooms, "they'll kick us out if we all go in together. Two at a time, a minute apart? Last person goes in alone."

"That sounds good," Nichole agreed, adding, "We should have the most intimidating girls go with in with Marji and Kenny, in case there's assholes. You're the most intimidating, [Y/N], no offense."

_I guess it's the Resting Bitch Face and dark clothes, huh?_

"None taken," you assured her. 

"So, you and Marji," Nichole continued, "and Kenny and Wendy?"

With the girls in agreement, you and Marjorine were sent in first, and you led her to one of the changing stalls in the room, "this one's good!"

"Wait, we're changing together?" she asked, blushing, then took in the number of stalls, "Aw, hamburgers."

_"Hamburgers?" Oh my god, that's so cute._

"Don't worry, I won't look," you comforted her. Each facing the opposite wall, you awkwardly changed into your dress, speaking up when you finished, "Let me know when you're done."

"Just a sec," she mumbled. A moment later, she alerted you, "Ok, I'm done."

You turned around to see Marjorine in a cute, frilly, blue dress, "Marji, you look so cute!"

Her blush deepened, but she took it in stride, "Thank you, [Y/N]! It was either this one, or neat green one, and I thought this one would be more fun. You look nice, too."

"Thanks," you responded, but you still felt weird in the dress. 

"Marji, [Y/N], stay in there," a voice, Bebe's, came from outside the stall, "we're all gonna come out at the same time!"

"Okey dokey," Marjorine responded for the both of you, and, after a moment, tried to make small talk, "[Y/N], you work at Tweek's parents place, right? How do you like it?"

"Yeah," you nodded and shrugged, "Work is work. Sometimes get to decorate the menus, though, so that's fun."

Nichole's voice chimed out from the stall next to yours, "Token said you're pretty cool to work with. I'm kinda jealous, I wish you worked with me and Bebe at Sloppy 2nds!"

"...Sloppy 2nds?" 

"It's the thrift store on main street," Bebe explained.

"Oh..."

Who names things in this town?

"Stan said you were pretty cool, too," Marjorine continued, then added an explanation, "I've been staying at his mom's while I look for a place."

\---

Eventually, everyone made it into the changing room, and after a minute, Heidi called out, "Ok, it's time!"

The moment you all opened the stall doors and walked out, compliments and positive affirmations were flying everywhere, and you joined in, feeling the love and positivity fuel you.

_I love this!_

"[Y/N], are those _muscles_?!" one girls exclaimed, and Bebe let out a loud wolf whistle, making you blush. 

_I guess I do? They aren't **that** impressive, though. _

Heidi blurted out, "are you able to pick people up?"

"Uh... Probably? I can try," you answered, and glanced next to you at Marjorine, "Can I try to pick you up, Marji?"

She looked shocked, but nodded. You picked her up bridal style, surprised at how easy it was. After some excited screaming and fanfare from the girls, you put a bright red Marjorine back down on the ground. The other's stared clamoring about who you would pick up, next, but were interrupted by the store manager stomping into changing room.

"You girls need to get changed and leave this store. If you aren't out in five minutes, I'm calling mall security," the woman warned, before walking out.

"Bitch," Bebe mumbled, a hand on her hip, a few of the others chiming in with insults. 

"Hey, let's take a pic, first!" you suggested, fetching your phone from your stall, "you know, memories, and all."

_And, my Coonstagram is so bare, I need more posts up._

The group was more than happy to oblige, and you quickly snapped a group selfie. 

"And one of just us!" you told Marjorine once you both returned to your stall. You snapped a selfie with the still red Marjorine.

\---

After the clothing store, the group cycled through a few stores, eventually landing in one that really caught the other's attention. Most of the girls were trying on clothes to buy, but you and Kenny sat on the sidelines in "I can't afford to actually buy anything," solidarity. You had saw a cool pair of novelty, Halloween socks, but they were way too expensive for you, at the moment. Kenny finished off the pretzels Karen stunk her, and you posted the selfies from the department store onto Coonstagram.

"Hey, you took a selfie with just Marji?" Kenny pouted, having glanced at your phone.

"What? Jealous?" you smirked.

"Uh, yeah?" she shot back.

"Alright, alright, come here," you rolled your eyes, and lifted up your phone. Kenny posed with you, wrapping her arm around your shoulder, and pressing close to you. 

"You're going to give Dovahkiin a run for her money," Heidi walked up to the two of you, having paid for her items.

_More weird South Park names._

"Who is she, I don't think I've really heard much about her?" you asked.

"She goes by Douchebag on Coonsta," Kenny informed you, "you're probably already following her."

"Is she the one with, like, a gazillion followers?" 

"That's her," Heidi confirmed, "it doesn't make any sense, but she _is_ a social media whiz."

"I think a bunch of them are left over from before fatass made Coonsta private," Kenny speculated around a mouthful of pretzel. 

"Don't call him that, it's not nice," Heidi scolded Kenny, before continuing, "But, I guess that makes sense? Were there that many people using it, back then? That's when I wasn't on social media..."

You simply stood between them, listening to them discuss the workings of Coonstagram. You were impressed, Cartman had to have been a kid when he started it!

Once it came to a natural end, Heidi turned her attention back to you, "Sorry if we lost you, there, [Y/N]."

"It's ok, you didn't loose me," you told her, "thank you for inviting me, by the way. "

Heidi placed a hand on your arm and gave you a sweet smile, "don't mention it! You're the new girl, so it's up to us to make you feel at home!"

"Thanks," you felt a little heat reach your cheeks, and an odd sense of déjà vu.

"Kenny, you sure you can't make it, tonight?" Heidi redirected her attention back to Kenny.

"I wish. My boss would flip if I didn't come in," she sighed, clearly bummed out.

\---

You rang Heidi's door bell, and fidgeted with your overnight bag. When you brought Kenny and Karen home and grabbed your bag, you changed into your pajamas, flannel pants and a black [sweatshirt](https://www.wickedclothes.com/products/stay-weird-glow-in-the-dark-sweater?variant=19791928295481) with glow in the dark lettering (perfect for a sleepover!).

"There you are, [Y/N]!" Heidi chimed when she swung open the door.

She pulled you into her house and into her living room, where the rest of the girls greeted you from where they sat around the room among pillows and blankets. Red and Annie sat on the floor, sharing a laptop, Nichole and Bebe looked over bottles of nail polish, and Marjorine was chatting with Wendy, who seemed focused on her laptop.

"Let me go get the _refreshments~_ ," Heidi said as she retreated momentarily into the kitchen and Bebe dragged you to a spot near her. Heidi returned with a cheap box of wine and a soft drink bottle, and came back from a second trip with several wine glasses.

"Be careful with the glasses, my parents will murder me if we break them," she urged you all as she passed the glasses out. 

Once everyone had their drink, Annie announced, "let's take a pre-makeover selfie!"

You went with the flow, and joined in the group selfie, posing with the rest of the girls.

"I'm doing [Y/N]'s make up," Heidi laid her claim once the selfies were done.

"I call dibs on her nails!" Bebe countered. 

Before you could get a word in, you found your self on the floor between Bebe and Heidi. While they decided on which supplies and colors they needed, you glanced at the rest. They must be used to this, having quickly paired up. Red started small, cute braids in Marjorine's shoulder length hair, and Annie began painting Nichole's nails with the color she picked out earlier. Wendy stayed on her computer for a moment, before closing it and getting her nails painted by Marjorine. Heidi turned your face to look in her direction so she could get started on your makeup, and Bebe took one of your hands. You listened to the girls' gossip as they worked, as much as you loved the attention, you needed a distraction.

The chatter started on which of their peer's parents were the worst customer (they came to the conclusion that they would need to compose a "Biggest Karen in South Park" list). It slowly morphed into the topic of their peer's dating lifes.

"You, like, moved here just in time, [Y/N]," Bebe told you as she finished up your nails, "the South Park dating pool is dry as fuck."

"The guys must be over the moon to have some fresh blood," Annie added, "when you grow up in a town like ours, everyone dates everyone else at some point, and you get sick of your options pretty quickly."

"Oof, that sucks."

_And explains a bit._

"Hell, the same could be said for when it comes to _just_ us girls," Nichole said with a wink in your direction, which you caught out of the corner of of you eye.

_Oh._

"Well, minus Red, Annie, and Heidi," Marjorine corrected. 

"Yeah, I still have Kevin, Annie's straight, and Heidi is, well, Heidi, she's unlucky in love," Red hummed. 

You moved your eyes to look forward again, to Heidi, to see her flustered. She stopped your makeover, and pulled away, seemingly looking for something in her makeup bag.

"[Y/N], what color are your nails?" Wendy suddenly called out. 

"They're done, so you can look," Bebe proudly stated.

You looked at your short nails to see a professional looking finish, "they're, like, a dark, wine red," you held them up for her to see. You turned back to Bebe, "you did an awesome job, I love the color!"

"Aw, thank you," Bebe wrapped her arms your neck, pulling you into a hug. Your face heated up when you realized she was pressing your face dangerously close to her chest, "I was thinking of messing with you and giving you something pastel, but I figured I should at least _try_ to match your whole aesthetic."

Heidi finished up your makeup quickly, once she recovered from her slight embarrassment. The makeup she gave you was a simple one compared to the time she took, but you weren't going to complain about that. Her makeup expertise were requested by another girl, leaving you doing Bebe's nails. Nail polish was the only thing you felt at least somewhat confident in, makeup-wise, but you doubted you could compare to Bebe's obvious skills.

"Soooo, [Y/N]?" Bebe waited for you to hum in response, and questioned, "we spilled the beans on what our dating history is, what's _yours_ like?"

"Uh," you decided to be honest, "I've dated a couple people in high school, guys and girls. They were the typical high school type of relationships, and what comes with those, I guess. I'm, uh, not really looking for anything, right now, though."

Like a shark smelling blood, Red popped up at that, while a couple of the girls deflated, "Ooooo, now this is interesting turn of events. How come?"

You focused on Bebe's nails as you explained, "I already have a lot going on, and everything's happening all at once. I feel like I'm barely making it, already, I don't want to throw a relationship in the mix, as well, and fuck everything up, you know?"

"That's too bad," Red lamented, pointedly looking at some of the other party goers, "cuz some of the _guys_ seem really into you. But, they'll need to keep it in their pants."

"We'll make sure they get the message," Marjorine told you.

"Maybe I'll be ready after I make it through this semester," you gave a forced laugh and smile.

"Hey, have you guys seen those Lady Gaga Oreos?" your savior, Wendy, changed the subject, "we started stocking them at the grocery store."

"I heard they taste like those golden Oreos," Heidi contributed. 

"Oh my god, they look cool, but they _also_ look like they'll turn your crap green," Nichole snickered.

"Ugh, now you're making me hungry," Bebe groaned.

"We probably should eat something. What about pizza?" Heidi suggested.

"You're eating dairy again?" Annie asked Heidi, surprised.

"Park Pizzeria uses locally sourced ingredients, so it's ok," Heidi explained.

"I'll order it," Wendy volunteered, returning to her laptop, "let me know what you all want."

\---

You were they only one still up, from what you could tell. You couldn't help it, you were a night owl, after all, but tonight was different. You chalked it up to the environment, and nerves. You lay the floor of Heidi's living room, your eyes squeezed shut, trying to force yourself to sleep. Your efforts where dashed when the shifting of blankets and creaking of the wood floor under the carpet shot them open.

You barely caught a figure move in the darkness from the living room, towards the front door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooookay, finally got this bad boy up. I need to work on chapter length consistency. Some parts aren't proofread, sorry
> 
> MC is this pic: pbs.twimg.com/media/EMrMS3ZUEAAaFR6.jpg


	9. 8. Studio

Just as I expected, phone lit up, a call coming through, Stan's name filling up the screen. Good thing I turned the ringer off ahead of time, or else I would have risked waking the girls up.

Using the phone screen as a flashlight, I carefully stood up, pushing off my blankets and leaving my cozy spot next to my laptop. I tiptoed across the room, trying to avoid the sleeping girls, and cringing when I heard the floor creak underfoot. I made my way to the front door, and stepped out into the slightly chilled air. At some point, the call went to voicemail, but started back up again.

I finally answered, my annoyance etched on my voice, "Yeah?"

"Callgirl, dude, I know you are trying to prove something by not helping out tonight," the tired voice responded, "but we really need you to work with us, here."

"I can't believe you, Toolshed! Do you guys think I'll just come back to Freedom Pals, after the way The Coon treated me?" You added with a quiet hiss, "I already work with the jackass during the day, I can't take it anymore."

"Please, we need you," Toolshed pleaded.

"You all _need me?_ Maybe Freedom Pals should have thought about that _before_ they just laughed The Coon off. Then you wouldn't be calling me at 5 AM, while I'm at my fucking friend's sleepover."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Mysterion's trying to talk to The Professor about just kicking him out. She, and most of us, are on your side, you know? We're all sick of him."

I shuffled my bare feet on the cool, rough concrete of the front porch, "if The Coon is out of the picture for good... then I'll think about it, Toolshed."

* * *

You looked around the living room, taking a quick headcount of who was still there. You counted 6 sleeping figures, then tried to match them with their owners in the low light. 

_I think that was Wendy? Is she ok?_

The front door could be heard gingerly unlocking, opening, and closing. You slowly got up, as not the wake up the rest, and crept towards the the front door. You stopped at the door, Wendy's silhouette casted across the door's glass window. You could barely catch snippets of a one-sided conversation. A phone call, perhaps. 

"...I can't believe you... think I'll just come back to... the way... treated me..."

There was a pause, as the other person presumably countered her.

She spoke again, "... _need_ _me_... should have thought about that... calling me at 5 AM..."

Another, longer pause, and she responded again, much more calmer, and resigned, "...if... out of the picture... I'll think about it..."

_Jesus, who is that? An ex?_

You barely had time to react before the front door began to open, only stepping back enough to make sure you didn't get smacked with it. Wendy almost yelped out of surprise when she saw you, but quickly threw her hand over her mouth to catch it. Her phone was in the other hand, still on from the recent use, and lighting up the front hall.

"What are you doing, [Y/N]? You almost gave me a heart attack," she hissed, removing her hand from her mouth.

"I'm so sorry!" you quickly half-whispered, "I saw you get up and wanted to make sure you were alright..."

"It... it's ok," Wendy quickly composed herself. She turned her phone screen off and slid it into the waist of her pajama pants.

"Well, _are_ you ok?" you questioned her, concerned, "that conversation sounded heated."

Wendy let out a tired huff, and put her back against the wall of the front hall, sliding down to the floor, "its complicated."

You sat down next to her, "you can tell me. Whatever it is, it might help to get it out, you know?"

"Well, I'm-" Wendy's eyes widened, and, once again, a hand flew to cover her mouth.

You looked at her, confused, then she removed the hand, again, and whispered, "Oh my god, I keep forgetting that we just met, like, two weeks ago."

"Hm?"

"I just..." she struggled to explain herself, "for some reason, it's really easy to trust you? Like, you give off this vibe that makes me want to tell you stuff that most of the friend's I _grew up_ _with_ don't even know."

_Maybe those dumb, magic glamours I tried a few years back actually worked, hah!_

"Jeez, Wendy, you like me that much, huh?" you teased her.

"Oh, shut up," she snorted, and weakly punched your arm.

"But, when you're ready to tell me about that crazy ex," you assured her, "I'll be here."

"OH- Ok. Thanks, [Y/N]."

\---

In the morning, you were gently brought out of your slumber by the feeling of something brushing a piece off hair out of your face. You were fully awoken by a thump on the ground next to you, and two of the girls squabbling.

"Oh my god, Wendy, I was just going to kiss her awake! Like sleeping beauty!" Bebe protested next to you.

"Yeah? And you can't do that!" Wendy explained as she held Bebe back.

"Cool it, girl, you just met her," Heidi laughed from across the room.

You covered your face with your hands, hoping the girls couldn't feel the heat radiating off of it.

_This town is going to kill me!_

\---

You walked into Tweak Bros. early in the afternoon, straight from Heidi's house. It was different from your normal, closing shifts, with a few more customers, and a chattier atmosphere. Token stood behind the baked goods display, sipping a coffee and watching a group of young men huddled in the back, around one of the cabinets. Jimmy sat at a table close to the huddle, and raised his cup and winked at you when he saw you. You waved back to him, and his attention went to his phone.

_I think I see Tweek, Craig, and Clyde in that huddle? Is that a brace of Tweek's leg? Ouch._

You decided to skirt around them for now, barely squeezing into the area behind the counter. You couldn't make out what was so interesting about the cabinet, but you figured you'd find out, anyways. They were too focused to realize you were there, and were quietly arguing with each other.

"Hey, sorta weird seeing you when the sun's still out," Token joked as you joined him. 

"Feels weird. What's going on in here?" you asked, as you grabbed your apron. 

"Photoshoot," Token answered with an eyeroll. "You are doing the boards today, but help me with the counter until Tweek remembers he's supposed to be working."

You barely finished putting your apron on, when Craig pushed Clyde back from the huddle, "dude, you need to back up, you're blocking all the light."

"Aw, come on-" Clyde started to whine, but finally noticed that you were there, "[Y/N]! Hey!"

"Hey, Clyde," you waved to him, then grabbed the cup Token handed you and started working on the order.

The other two looked over, surprised, and Tweek let out a small yell, "Gah! [Y/N], when did you get here?"

"Like, a minute ago, d-d-don't worry," Jimmy pointed out, not looking up from his phone.

"Oh, oh! [Y/N]! Come over here, I have show you something!" Clyde bounced slightly.

"Um, I'm kinda working, Clyde," you deadpanned. 

"I'll just bring her to you, then!" Clyde decreed, and pushed his way back into the huddle, and grabbing something, much to Craig and Tweek's frustration. He returned, holding his prize against his chest.

"Is... that a Guinea pig?" you asked, trying to finish the drink order, and see what Clyde was holding.

"Yeah, you should pet her, I'll hold her for you," Clyde told you.

"Dude, really?" Craig huffed, grabbed something from the cabinet, "I told you you can't pick Stripe up, _or_ use her to flirt, and you're doing both."

"Yeah!" Tweek took the Guinea pig from Clyde, but immediately offered to you, "but, you can pet Stripe if you want, [Y/N]!"

You finished the drink order and handed it to the slightly annoyed costumer, then laughed, "ok, where's the small, adorable animal?"

The Guinea pig was in Tweek's unusually calm arms. She was wearing a shockingly accurate, miniature version of the aprons you wore at Tweak Bros, logo and all. 

"Ho-ly shit, how'd you get the little aprons? She is _so_ cute!" you cooed, reaching over the display case to let Stripe sniff your hand so you could pet her. 

"Bebe, right?" Token asked, earning a nod from Tweek, "she's really good at making costumes, she's the go to for that sort of stuff. She helps Nichole with her cosplays."

"Oh, wow! She must be, like, the queen of Halloween!" you amazed, as Craig joined Tweek at the case.

"[Y/N], these are Stripe's adopted son and daughter, Stripy and Stripette," he showed off the two Guinea pigs in his hands, both of a similar size as Stripe, and wearing the same aprons. Craig seemed a little softer than he had the previous times you saw him in the shop.

_God, those names... I'll let it slide, because this is way too cute to get caught up in dumb names!_

"Oh my god, there's more!" you joy was cut off when a customer entered and started ordering, meaning you had to wash up and get working, again.

Tweek and Craig wrapped up the Guinea-show-and-tell, putting the three little critters in a carrying crate to sleep. Tweek took over the order for you, so you could get to work on the specials boards. You set your stuff up at the table next to where Jimmy, Craig, and Clyde had settled, each nursing a large cup of coffee.

"So, [Y/N], did ya get all dolled up just for me?" Clyde asked, fluttering his eyelashes dramatically. 

"Huh?" you remembered that you were still wearing the light eyeshadow and eyeliner from last night, "oh, its leftover from last night, seemed like a waste to wash it off, right away." 

"Ok, you brought it uh-uh-up, so we can ask you about it. Didja end up buying that sexy dress?" Jimmy asked you, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, hell, no!" you laughed, earning a disappointed groan from Clyde, "I don't wear dresses in general, let _alone_ ones like _that_."

Clyde perked up from his slump with a sudden thought, "did you guys... _pillow fight_?"

Jimmy let out an ooo sound, "did they start lezzing out?" 

_...No, and yes... Should you be saying these kind of things in front of costumers? Jesus Christ._

"Don't be creeps, in the shop, please!" Token warned Jimmy and Clyde with a polite, yet strained smile. He and Tweek were just in ear shot. 

"Ugh, yeah, don't, you two make me barf, you're so obnoxious," Craig glared at them from over his phone.

Clyde childishly stuck his tongue out at him, and tease, "oh, you love us, Craig!"

"I'm just messing around," Jimmy not-so-honestly assured you, "did you have fun?"

"Yeah! Last night was the first time I met most of them," you explained, starting on the boards, "so a lot of it was the 'getting to know you' type of stuff, like talking and question games. It was pretty chill."

* * *

"Things are getting too quiet," Nichole sighed, setting down her empty pizza plate, "let's play truth or dare!"

"No!" Heidi cried out, "we broke my coffee table, last time!"

"I said I was sorry!" Annie exclaimed, before looking to you to explain, "they made me dance on it!"

"It's not your fault, little buddy," Marjorine consoled her. 

_Poor Annie_

"What about just questions? Ricochet style?" you offered up. 

"That could work! A few ground rules, though, so we stay civilized," Wendy turned her her head to look straight at Bebe, "like nothing overly personal or sexual. Everyone gets two skips."

Everyone agreed, except for Bebe, who groaned in disappointment. 

* * *

"I think Wendy was keeping them from going too crazy, though," you laughed, "she seems like the mediating leader between them."

"Wow, I've never thought of it that way before, but you're right," Jimmy smiled and nodded. 

When you mentioned Wendy's name, Token left the counter once he got rid of the current costumer, and moved closer to you and the seated guys, "Hey, speaking of Wendy, this morning, how was she, uh, acting? Like was she angry or anything?"

This seemed to catch the other guy's attentions for real, including Tweek, who kept occasionally glancing over as he worked on the order. 

Is he talking about that phone call? Do they know anything about that ex?

"Uh, she was fine, I guess," you responded as you worked, "she got a weird phone call in the middle of the night, though." You looked up, "do you guys know anything about that? It sounded like a super persistent ex."

Clyde laughed and shot coffee out his nose, to the disgust of everyone.

"Uh, she made a vague post on Twitter, so I was just wondering what was up..." Token answered, morbidly enthralled at Clyde tried mobbing his mess up with the table's napkins, while whining about his poor sinuses.

"Wendy has a lot of exes, so that's probably what was up," Craig told you, as he and Jimmy pulled more napkins out of the napkin holders for Clyde. 

\---

_First, again! Well, almost._

The "room" for your 2D Studio a section of a long, skinny, open floor. The space was much smaller that the studio your drawing class was held in, but had a much more cozy, personal feel to it. The other student was a goth boy, who looked about your age, who simply glanced at you before rolling eyes back to his phone screen. That, and the music that you could hear coming from his headphones, stopped you from complimenting his cool, red and black hair.

Instead, you found a spot for yourself, and popped your own earbuds back in, and scrolled through Coonstagram, and began snooping. Curiosity might kill the [Y/N], but satisfaction will bring it back! Following a hunch, you navigated to Karen's page, and scrolled through her pictures. You easily found him, and Karen kindly tagged him, to boot.

_Why, hello, Pete!_

While you were proud of your amateur detective skills, it unfortunately only killed a minute or two. You returned to your feed, a post from Cartman on top.

**Cartman** : Are the superheroes in this town becoming just as corrupt as the evil they claim to fight? The Coon tells all!

Cartman linked an article with an interview with him and ~~himself~~ The Coon. The site it was hosted on didn't look professional, and the interview was just The Coon trashing his seemingly former teammates. 

Next, you check your notifications from your posts from last night. Your selfie with Marjorine in your dresses was uncomfortably popular, which you probably should have anticipated. The comments where surprisingly tame, but it didn't take a mind reader to guess what some of them really thought. The girls made sure to comment on each other's posts, filling them with compliments, and you followed suite, catching up on them. 

As the professor joined in the room and started prepping the black board for introductions, your phone buzzed.

**Karen** : Can hang out at your place, tonight? Kenny's going to be working late, and it gets boring when she's not here

**[Y/N]:** Sure! My class is supposed to end at 9, but I'll probably be out before that. It isn't a school night, right?

**Karen** : Nope, we start next week

**[Y/N]:** Awesome!

_Aw, poor Kenny is missing out on slumber-party-[Y/N] two nights in a row!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey
> 
> I have a tumblr side blog ( followingthrowaway.tumblr.com/ ) up and running, you can pester me, there if you want (you don't need an account to send anonymous asks). Combo Fresh Start + General South Park fan blog, ya know. It is a side blog, though, so if I follow back or like posts, it will show as from my main blog lol


	10. 9. Families

Warning for brief discussion of abusive/toxic parents (and stuff that comes with The McCormick family, yada yada), as well as creeps

* * *

As expected, the class wrapped up early. As you began to leave, you caught sight of a flier on the wall.

_"Seeking: Art Lab Tech - Part Time - Contact Art Department Head"_

"Excuse me, Stephanie," you called out to your Professor as she gathered her things to leave. She mentioned It was weird calling your professor by their first names, but it seemed like something they insisted. You pointed out the flier, "what's a lab tech?"

The woman's face lit up, and began explaining the job, "lab techs are what we call the student employees that monitor our open lab times, so students can come in and work on projects outside of their class times. Were you thinking of applying? The pay is minimum wage, but its an easy job, and we haven't gotten any applicants. All you really need to do is watch the room and talk to the students, if they need it, and make sure the room is tidied up after, and you can work on homework or projects while you do it."

Could you afford to say no to such a easy gig? Your growing art supply list and lack of a legal, not shady as hell job made the choice an easy one.

"Sure, it sounds fun! How do I apply?" you gave her a polite smile. 

"You just did! I'm sure our special, out of [state/town] student is the perfect fit! You are such a polite girl, after all," she beamed.

_I keep forgetting that I'm a special case, here. At least it's working in my favor?_

You and the woman discussed scheduling and your duties, further. Although the pay wouldn't be as good as Tweak Bros, you wouldn't mind needing to cut down on your hours there. You needed this one under your belt a lot more, and Tweek's parents rubbed you wrong. And, this one just sounded _so_ much more constructive and enjoyable.

"...so, make sure to email Student Career Services, tonight or tomorrow, and so they can schedule an appointment with you for paperwork, and your background check. Hopefully, we can get you started by the end of next week!" she instructed, as she wrote notes for herself on a piece of scrap paper."

You nodded, finishing making your own notes on your phone's note app, "thank you so much, Stephanie! I'll see you later," you waved to each other, and you left.

As you exited the building, you paused to text Karen, letting her know you were leaving. Standing just outside the door, after you sent the text, you noticed the goth boy - Pete - was off to the side of the door, a few feet away, leaning against the wall, a cigarette in mouth. You were pretty sure he had been looking at you, but quickly went back to staring at his phone screen when you looked over.

_Soon, Pete, soon. You won't be able to play 'disinterested goth boy' for long, cutie._

You noticed a rather plain car pull up and pick him up after you had gotten into your own.

\---

You rapped on Karen and Kenny's apartment door, and Karen popped out almost immediately. She looked like a little goth baby in her skull patterned pajama pants, and baggy black tee shirt. You could feel your big sister instincts being activated. Kenny better watch out, you might just steal her away!

"I need to take a quick shower, but you can just chill while you wait," you explained to her, unlocking your own door. You hadn't been home since yesterday morning (or, more accurately, afternoon), and you really needed to get your makeup off before it clogged your pores. You added, walking in, "there's not a whole lot, but help yourself to the kitchen, kiddo." 

"Thanks, [Y/N]!" Karen chimed, forgetting to put up her cold, goth-y mask, making a bee-line to the refrigerator. 

"No problem!" you called out from your room, dumping your bag and picking out your pajamas.

"Uh... is it alright if I smoke?" Karen hesitantly asked as you came out of your room.

_..._

"Eh, whatever. I'm pretty sure the smoke detector is broken, but open the window to be safe. And grab a bowl for the ashes."

No one ever said your 'big sister instincts' were _good_ ones. 

\---

You exited your bathroom, clad in fresh, cozy pajamas, to see Karen sitting on your couch, a pop and bag of chips next to her. She looked up from her phone, and took her earbuds out when she saw the bathroom door open, "thanks for letting me come over. Kenny's been called out late, like, a lot, recently, and it's kinda weird just sitting in the apartment while she's out there."

_Poor baby, she must not like being alone._

"Hey, no problem," you assured her, getting a drink of your own and dragging the chair from your 'art room' into the main room, "you're welcome here, anytime. But, have you told Kenny about it? Maybe she could help figure out a schedule where you can spend the night at a friend's or family member's on nights where she's gone?"

Her eyes widened for a moment, "Oh, no, I can't tell her that. She already has so much she's dealing with, and she'll just feel bad. She can't help that she needs to be gone, right now. The friend thing could work, as for family, we don't have anyone I'd want to be around. It's just me and Kenny," she nervously fiddled with her cigarette.

_Oh fuck._

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Karen, I probably should have assumed..." you felt like an asshole, now. Of course the eighteen and sixteen year olds living on their own wouldn't have a great relationship with their family. 

"It's alright, I've come to accept it," she said, pausing for a moment before continuing, avoiding eye contact, "me and Kenny moved out about a year ago. I still love them, but our parents and big brother are a mess, so Kenny wanted us to get out of there. She was already practically raising me and herself, and things are a _lot_ better here. Like, there's less fighting, and I can actually do my homework, and don't have to worry about my stuff getting pawned." She smiled a little, but it was clearly still a rough subject.

This was the first time you heard mention of an older brother. You couldn't blame her and Kenny for not bringing him up, if things really were that rough back home. Your heart broke for the two of them.

"I'm sorry, Karen, that sounds awful," you frowned, pulling your knees up to your chest, resting your feet on the seat of your chair.

"What are your parent like?" she quietly asked, finally looking up.

_Does she think things were that bad for me, back home? Well..._

"Quiet, judgmental, suffocating," you admitted, "they weren't bad, I guess, but they were just uneasy to be around, like they disapproved of everything I said or did... They were too much, I guess?" Your feelings about your parents were still something you had trouble putting into words. 

Karen nodded, and returned to her phone, as did you to yours. The room was silent for a few minutes, with only the occasional phone buzz, before Karen giggled at something on her phone, catching your attention.

"What?" you asked with a smile, happy for a change in the atmosphere.

"I told my friends I was with you, and they want to if you are 'trying to be goth, or are just a poser,'" she relayed to you. 

_What? I don't think I really count as goth. Or at least **their** idea of goth._

"Wouldn't a poser just lie and say they were a goth?" you laughed, "seriously, though, I really don't care what counter-culture label people want to put on me, it doesn't matter."

To your confusion, Karen began furiously typing. After moment, her phone buzzed rapidly, and she looked up with a smile, "I think they really liked that. I think you're pretty goth."

"I don't think I'm goth..." you weakly protested.

Karen texted a bit more, but suddenly seemed to remember something, "oh! [Y/N], can I look at your books?"

"Sure, I think I've unpacked some more since you last went through them," you told her, and returned to your phone as she rummaged through your book piles. A text came through your phone.

**Cartman** : hey new chick come over to my place tomorrow

**[Y/N]:** ???

**[Y/N]:** What time?

**Cartman** : i dont know

**Cartman** : 4 or whenever the fuck it is u wake up

**Cartman** : u have a switch right? bring it and ur games

You puzzled over the rude invite, and whether you should _actually_ bring one of your few items of luxury to his house. You figured it wouldn't hurt, and you could use some free food.

Karen's voice brought you back to the real world, "Uh, [Y/N], do you have any books about wards? Like, stuff that'll keep people away?"

"Like, evil eye stuff?" you asked, growing slightly suspicious, "...is someone bothering you?"

"I... not _really..._ " Karen began, her back turned to you as she flipped through a book, "there's this creepy guy that lives on the floor below us, and he just gives me a weird feeling."

You felt a protective anger bubble up from within you, but you kept your voice quiet and level for Karen's sake, "did he try anything with you?"

"No!" Karen quickly explained, turning back to you, "I just want to do something, like, preventative, you know?"

"If someone decides that they want to hurt you, some silly spell or amulet isn't going to save you," you tried to patiently explain to her, "the only thing I have for that is the metal baseball bat I keep in my car, and pepper spray."

"Ugh!" she groaned, surprising you, "you guys all jump to violence! I just want to find a way to deal with things civilly, where no one gets hurt..."

"Does Kenny know?" you asked, already having guessed the answer.

"No. I don't want to worry her."

You made a mental note to try to figure out who this guy was. You hadn't talked to your neighbors outside of Kenny and Karen, but knowing the floor he lived on helped a bit. You'll be ready if he tried anything with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to try out shorter chapters, to help make getting stuff out a little easier (and to help break me out of the 1 chapter = 1 day thing I keep falling into). Anyhoooo
> 
> MC's only had Karen for 2 weeks, but if anything happened to her, she would kill everyone in South Park and then herself.


	11. 10. Video Games

[Music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A44YACodFDM)

_"Oh, I'm here, again?"_

_You stood in a familiar forest clearing, your surroundings void of color. The leaves and grass swayed oddly, as if blown by an unnaturally slow wind. You could never pinpoint the time of day you were in; the sky was a blank, off white color, and a light fog wisped through the air. The lighting in the clearing was enough to see clear across it, but the forest surrounding it was plunged in darkness, making it impossible to see past even the first row of trees._

_You were the only source of color in the forest, besides your companion. Two [funky color] orbs stared at you from the inky blackness between the trees, the light from their glow diffusing into the fog. You looked up to meet their stare. It never made you uncomfortable, but you always keep a good few feet between the two of you. You didn't trust the darkness of the forest._

_"It's been a little while, huh?" you asked, being met with silence, the eyes continuing their stare._

_From the darkness, your companion slowly moved forward, so that you could barely make out the flashing of its long, white teeth, the most it ever shows you. Its jaws opened and closed repeatedly, as if trying to talk._

_"Wow, you're talkative, tonight," you joked with a snort. You somehow had a basic grip of what it was trying to say, and you tugged at a lock of your [funky color] dyed hair, "I didn't copy you, or anything, just so you know. You just happen to like the same color as me."_

_You continued talking to your companion, "a lot has changed since the last time a saw you, imaginary friend. I've moved away from my parents, made a bunch of new friends, and started college."_

_You threw your arms up excitedly, "and people actually notice me, here! I'm actually able to be confident and bold, now!"_

_The jaws flapped._

_"Well, yeah, I'm still uber stressed out, why wouldn't I?" you shoved you hands into your pajama pants, "I think that's normal for the situation."_

_The jaws started again, but you cut them off, "I'm ok, though. I'm fine."_

_Suddenly, your companion retreated into the shadowy blackness, the glow from it's eyes extinguishing._

* * *

You were awoken by a knocking, and opened your eyes to see Karen standing in your open, bedroom doorway, fist against the wood of the door.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know I'm heading back over to my place," she told you as you groggily got out of bed, "I cleaned up the couch, and stuff, too."

"Thanks kiddo!" you put on a chipper voice, despite your sleepiness. As you followed her out, you grabbed your phone.

**10:00 AM**

That was pretty early, by your standards, but you were already up.

"See ya later, Karen," you told her as she left your apartment to go back across the hall. The pillows and blankets you had given Karen the night before were neatly folded and stacked to one side of the couch. You unlocked your phone and shot off a text to Cartman as you made your breakfast.

**[Y/N]:** When should I come over?

**Cartman** : wtf ur awake

**Cartman** : whenever

**Cartman** : 12

\---

You weren't sure what all rumors you heard about Eric Cartman were true, but they were enough to make you a little nervous as you stood on his front porch, waiting for him to answer the door. Thankfully, you didn't have much time to stew on these emotions, as the door swung open almost as soon as you knocked.

"Jesus, [Y/N], what took you so long?" he huffed, moving out of the doorway. You rolled your eyes, and figured it was his way of saying "come on in."

_Ok, where's my sweets?  
_

Cartman led you to his living room, where various junk foods were set up on the coffee table in front of his couch. You took noted that many of the bags and containers seemed to have already been cracked into, as well as...

"When's the rest of Team Stan coming?" you asked, setting your bag with your Switch next to the couch.

"Team Stan?" Cartman let out a mocking snort, "why would you think those assholes are coming over."

"Oh, I thought the four of you did, like, everything together?" you asked, puzzled. That was what everyone else you talked to made it sound like.

"Yeah, no," Cartman rolled his eyes at you, a hand on his hip, "other than when we were kids, and other day, I don't really hang out with them anymore. That 'broship' is practically dead, those assholes piss me off..."

_Now that I think of it, when I've talked to Kenny and Kyle, they've barely mentioned the other (ex?) Team Stan members... Well, they both talked about Stan, but not each other or Cartman. And I lot of the stories I've heard about their antics were from when they were younger.  
_

"...which is why I invited you, here, today," Cartman told you, an unnerving glint in his eye, "I'm gonna use _you_ to piss _them_ off."

"Uh..." you began, not knowing what to say.

_I think I should leave...  
_

"I just need you to pretend to be my friend, relax," he scoffed.

"What?"

"Dude, it's perfect, you totally get all their panties in a twist, they'll be so jealous and pissed if if I was your BFF," he laughed, "it'll be hilarious! You _know_ you want to mess with them."

You stared at him for a moment, " _why_ would I want to that?"

"Jesus, [Y/N]," Cartman groaned dramatically, "you're a good actor, and all, but are you really gonna pretend you don't wanna fuck with them? Get those simps all riled up and jealous?" He held up his hand and made a half-pinching motion with his fingers, "just a _liiiiittle_ bit?"

_Fuck.  
_

"Are you tired of being nice, [Y/N]? Don't you just want to go ape shit?" Cartman leaned it, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"...did you just meme at me?" you asked, deadpan.

"Dude, whatever. Are you in or not?" 

_...if Team Stan really aren't his friends anymore, doesn't that mean he has none? That's what everyone made it sound like...  
_

"Fine-" you threw a finger up as Cartman fist pumped, " _But_! I'm not doing anything weird or uncomfortable, and I can drop out anytime I want."

"Cool, you can hate me next week, as long as they get pissed off, I don't care."

You crossed your arms and cautiously asked, "so, what exactly am I doing?" 

Cartman steepled his fingers, and explained his innerworkings, "oh, I have several, simple things that will piss each one off, specifically. Well, _Kyle's_ is just the _idea_ of me talking to you, but the others are more finely tuned..."

\---

"Alright, who in town do you have on Snapchat? Who can see your stories?" Cartman asked, bringing a very cute, gray cat into the room.

"Aw," you said, before pulling your Snapchat up, "I have... Wendy, Kenny, Kenny's sister, Clyde, Token, Craig-"

"Perfect!" Cartman cut you off, "take a pic of Mr. Kitty, and casually caption it 'the cutest cat,' with a bunch of girly emojis or whatever, and add it to your story."

\---

[Music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll4NJs3NBIU)

"One of those stupid bands you like did a cover of Bad Romance, I want you to play it like you're showing it to me, and I'm gonna add a video of you to my Snap story."

"Are you talking about Halestorm?" you asked, Cartman having positioned you on the couch, taking the spot next to you, as if the two of you were casually hanging out.

"Yeah, that one," Cartman answered, "start playing it, and when I signal you, say something like 'I think it's pretty cool! You like Lady Gaga, so I wanted to show it to you.' I just need a few seconds before and after that."

"Is this one for Stan?" you asked as you started up the songs, remembering the other day by Stark's Pond.

"Yeah, now shush," Cartman hushed you, and then lifted his phone up after giving the song a moment to play.

\---

"Ok, Coonsta selfie time," Cartman told you, draping an arm around you. You gave his phone a sweet smile and a peace sign.

"So, is this one just a general one? Who is it supposed to piss off?" you asked as he withdrew to post it.

"Kenny and Clyde. It's how they take selfies with chicks they like."

_I thought that seemed familiar... wait, Clyde, too?  
_

\---

"Next, I send out a little Tweet~" Cartman began typing.

"Wait, if it's about me, I want to approve it, first," you warned him, leaning over to see his phone screen.

_"[Y/N] is so cool, she's totally the perfect star for that movie I was working on"  
_

"What movie? Who is this for?" you questioned.

"Don't worry, they'll know I'm taking about. And it's for Token, we were originally working on it together," Cartman waved you away, back to your side of the couch.

"...wait, Token is a part of this?" you suspiciously quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah? _Team Stan_ -" he said the name in a mocking voice -"isn't the only ones I wanna piss off. Don't worry, they'll still fawn over you."

"You know, they are going to realize you're purposely doing all of this? You are going way too fast, it's too obvious," you stated as he sent off the Tweet.

"Don't care, I get the same result either way," he admitted, reaching for the almost empty bag of Cheesy Poofs, "plus, I'm putting time between each one, I thought this through."

\---

Cartman set Netflix on his TV, and navigated to Unsolved Mysteries. He went to the second episode, and started it, fast forwarding to halfway through. He stood up, "take a candid pic with the TV in frame. We're putting it on Coonsta."

You did that, and let him review the picture, then captioned it for you.

_"We've been watching Unsolved Mysteries while hanging out!"  
_

"This one is for Wendy and Scott," Cartman told you before you could ask.

"Scott?" the name sounded familiar, but you couldn't put a face to it.

"Wait, you haven't met Scott Malkinson, yet?" Cartman laughed, "he's the guy with a lisp and diabetes, he's family hates streaming services."

"Dude, come on," you warned him.

Be nice to the poor guy, Cartman. And how does the 'jealously' angle of this scheme apply to him?

"No, I'm serious!" Cartman laughed again, misunderstanding, "it's totally hilarious!"

\---

After having you post a picture of one of Cartman's mom's cupcakes, and replying to a worried Jimmy with a comment claiming that you thought Cartman was funny, the main part of the scheme seemed over. 

"What do we do, now?" you asked Cartman.

He rolled his eyes, "we hang out, duh? Get Animal Crossing out," and grabbed his Switch from the coffee table.

"...I don't have that one," you admitted and explained when Cartman gave you a genuinely confused look, "Switch games are expense, man! I have the Chinpokomon games, though."

"Fine," he huffed childishly, "we can take down some raid dens, then. You really need to get it, though, I need more islands to visit."

You and Cartman only got a few minutes into playing when your phone started ringing.

"Oh shit, who is it?" Cartman asked, leaning over to see the caller ID. He snickered when he saw Kyle's name, "answer it, answer it!"

"Hey, Kyle!" you chimed, picking the phone up. Cartman covered his mouth to hide his snickering, and leaned close to your phone to hear what Kyle was saying.

"Hey, [Y/N], how are you doing?" Kyle asked in worried voice, "are you ok?"

"Uh, yeah? I'm hanging out at Cartman's," you played innocent and dumb, "are _you_ ok? You sound kinda stressed out?"

"Yeah, I'm ok," he cleared throat, and his voice lowered a bit, "do you need someone to come over and help you?"

"No?" you answered, acting confused, "what's going _on_ with you?"

"Nothing," Kyle quickly answered, then added, "I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out and look over our reading for class."

_Holy shit, it worked._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MC is not ok.
> 
> (Disclaimer I guess?? The time period this fic takes in both extremely specific AND timeless. Dates and days of the week are very solid, but the things that happen/are out? Depends on how I feel <3


	12. 11. Meet Ups

"There you are, Fatass!" 

The Coon looked up from the roof he kept his vigil on to see a duo of superheroes hovering in the air. The Human Kite, clutching Toolshed under his arms, lowered the two of them to the surface of the roof. Kite's angry expression was mostly hidden behind his tight, gray hood and tinted aviator goggles, and he stomped his way to the former Freedom Pal, the layer of pebbles covering the roof crunching under foot. The metal kite attached to his back folded closed as he stalked forward. The air was tense.

"Dude, what the fuck doing you think you're doing with her!" Kite growled, griping Coon by the front of his cape, pulling the shorter hero close. 

"Calm down, _shoulder-pads_ ," Coon roughly shoved Kite back, and fixed the front of his outfit, "I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Oh my god, yes you do," Toolshed pointed at him, coming up from behind the fuming kite, "why were you with [Y/N], today? What are you planning?"

"Oh, _her_ ," Coon casually admitted, but shot back, "whatever happened to keeping superhero and personal life shit separate, huh? Is _nothing_ sacred, anymore?"

"Hypocrite," a voice huffed from the fire escape, as another hero joined the confrontation. Mysterion popped up, and swung their legs over the wall of the roof, "you're only hanging out with her to piss us off, since we kicked you out, again."

"Does she know you're just using her?" Kite asked, folding his arms alongside Toolshed.

The Coon rolled his eyes, then flicked his claws, a hand on his hip. "If I was using her, why the _fuck_ would I tell her? That would blow everything. That bitch was just happy to have someone pay attention to her, easy mark," he lied. Honor among thieves, after all. 

"Don't you fucking call her that!" The Human Kite nearly lunged at The Coon, only to be stopped by Toolshed, who caught him, wrapping both arms around his waist and pulling him back.

Toolshed clearly wasn't happy about the conversation, either, but was considerably more level headed than Kite. He whispered to Kite, "Kyle, dude, calm down, he's trying to make you angry!"

The Human Kite struggled and pulled a bit, but mellowed out at that. Toolshed let him go, but he still hand clenched teeth and fists.

Mysterion quietly glared at The Coon, their arms tightly folded across their chest, clenching and unclenching their fists. Their glowing, pink eyes were angerly furrowed behind their hood and mask. 

" _Jesus_ , you guys barely know the chick!" the Coon scoffed, pretending to wipe away a tear. He looked over and pointed at Mysterion, "like, Mysterion, I kinda get, but even then, you've only known her for like a week or whatever!"

"Just because _you_ don't care about people _at all,_ doesn't mean _we_ can't feel compassion for a new kid," Toolshed told Coon, still keeping an eye on Kite.

That made Coon laugh mockingly, "so, compassion is what we're calling it, nowadays?" He lowered his voice, " _you all just want to get into her pants._ "

"Watch it," Mysterion finally spoke up, growling out a warning. Their eyes narrowed and shifted back and forward between the Coon and where the Human Kite and Toolshed stood.

The air on the roof changed to an entirely different kind of tense, the animosity now spread between all four of them.

"I'm leaving," Kite spoke up, his kite unfolding, "I have work early, tomorrow."

"Me, too," Toolshed stated, backing away from the Human Kite and the Coon. He walked past Mysterion, climbing onto the fire escape, as Kite lifted off.

"What, _Kinny_?" the Coon spat at Mysterion, who still stood there, staring him down.

They huffed, and turned around, their cape fluttering in the wind, and spoke before jumping down the fire escape, "if you hurt her, I _will_ hurt you back." 

The night was silent for a moment after they left, but was broken by a wheezing laugh as the Coon doubled over, "oh, that was _beautiful_!"

* * *

"Ugh, I'm still under the word count on the last question," you groaned quietly, trying not to disturb the other students studying in the library.

"Did you try adding fluff?" Kyle asked from the little table the two of you were working at. From the lack of typing, he clearly already finished.

"I did, but I'm afraid to add anymore, I don't want to be too obvious," you slumped.

_I don't understand why we need to type so much, when just a short sentence or two covers it. I don't even meet half of the minimum on this one._

"Let me see," Kyle offered, standing up and walking over to your side of the table. He pulled his chair over and next to you, taking a look at your laptop screen, " _Oh_."

"Yeah, I know, it-" you trailed off as Kyle began typing on your laptop. You wouldn't be surprised if he took typing classes growing up, his hand positioning and speed were very impressive. 

"Uh, does this sound like something you'd say?" Kyle asked, scooting away a little, probably realizing how close he had put himself to you, having leaned over you to type.

You read over the response and grinned, look at him, "oh wow, Kyle, you're amazing, thank you!"

"No problem," Kyle smiled sheepishly, blush dusting his cheeks. 

* * *

A middle aged woman with short, graying brown hair answered the door to the small house you were waiting in front of. She smiled when she saw you, "you must be Stan and Marjorine's friend! Come on in, they're just getting your little movie night set up."

"Thank you, Miss Kern," you smiled, letting Stan's mother lead you in. You mentally thanked your curious Facebook snooping for making you aware that she was going by her maiden name. 

"Hey!" Stan greeted you, his mother going upstairs. He was in the living room, setting up bowls of popcorn, and called out, "Marji, [Y/N] is here!"

She came out of the kitchen, a couple of two liters in arm. She sat them down, and ran over to you, pulling you into a hug, a smile on her face, "its so good to see you again!"

"You, too! Your bunny slippers are adorable, by the way!"

_Oh my god, I forgot how nice hugs were..._

_Something_ flashed across Stan's face.

_Jealousy?_

"Ok, your turn, Stan! Hug time!" you spread your arms out, turning to him.

His face suddenly paled, and he stuttered out, "I-I'll be right back." He ran past the two of you and up the stairs, passing by his mother on the way up.

_...what?_

"Oh no, what happened?" she asked you and Marjorine, worry across her face.

Marjorine hid a smirk behind her hand, feigning concern, "[Y/N] was going to hug him, you know how he is."

"Oh!" she looked to you, while putting on her coat, "don't worry about him, he'll be alright."

"O-ok?" you responded, still confused. 

She finished getting dressed, "alright, kids, I'm heading out to my friend's, try not to stay up too late," she waved, walking out the door. 

"Come on, [Y/N]," Marjorine grabbed your hand, pulling you to the couch, taking the spot next to you. She showed you the options for your movie night, and the two of you decided on [favorite scary movie] by time Stan returned downstairs. 

The three of you watched the movie, you and Marjorine staying on the couch, and Stan forced to sit on his own in the adjacent armchair. You occasionally caught him making the same face from before, whenever Marjorine would jump and cling to you throughout the movie.

* * *

"Let me set up my phone and record at the finish line, so there will be no disputes over who wins," Heidi suggested, propping up her phone up by the roughly marked line, "even though I _know_ it will be me and [Y/N]."

You, Heidi, Kenny, and Wendy stood in the loading area behind the grocery store, a few minutes after Wendy and Heidi got off their night shift, and you, yours. You had come to learn that Heidi and Marjorine also worked part time at the local grocery store.

As you helped Heidi climb into your shopping cart, Kenny scoffed, already sitting in the one next to you, "Wendy has crazy competitive strength, you can't beat her. Right Wends?"

Wendy stood a few feet away and admitted, "I'm having second thoughts. What if someone gets hurt, or we get caught?"

Kenny simply glanced over at Wendy, "Cartman would do it." There was an implied 'with [Y/N]' on the end.

Wendy balled her fisted, and wordless stomped over and gripped the handles of Kenny's cart.

"Are you still on that, Wendy?" Heidi sighed, "you two are so childish!"

"Says the girl sitting in a shopping cart," Kenny shot back with a smirk. Heidi simply stuck her tongue out at her in response.

* * *

A bell rang out as you entered Sloppy 2nds. Normally, you'd dive into the treasure trove of discounted clothes, but you were on a mission, today. Well, two missions.

Nichole perked up when she saw you, and laughed, "your early, [Y/N]! I can't leave for Token's for another twenty minutes."

Mission number one: take Nichole to Token's to hang out at his family's new, fancy, indoor pool.

You awkwardly laughed, "yeah, I kinda need help with something. I don't have..." you mumbled the last part.

"You don't have _what_?" Nichole asked, concerned, until she processed what you said, "you don't have a bathing suit?"

Mission number two: pray there were bathing suits, here.

"Yeah," you admitted. You could feel your face heating up, "do you guys have anything?"

"What do you think is your size?" she asked, taking you over to a megger rack of assorted bathing suits. 

You told her, and helped her shift through the circular rack. 

"I think this is the only one," you told Nichole, holding up a plain, black one piece with a rip that would show off your left ass cheek.

"I think we can pair it with these!" Nichole beamed, presenting a pair of men's tucks, sporting a sharp, black and neon design.

\---

"Wow, this place is huge," you awed, walking into what was probably the biggest, nicest house in South Park, or that you'd ever seen. You were scared of breathing wrong and breaking something.

"My house isn't _that_ much bigger than everyone else's," Token tried to claim, closing the front door.

"We all know that _you_ know that isn't true, Token," Nichole jabbed playfully, "Tweek gets lost in here all the time."

"The guys are in the kitchen, I'll show you the way," Token conceded.

In the kitchen, Craig, Clyde, and Jimmy sat around a table chatting. They already had their trucks on, paired with tee shirts.

"Yes, sexy bikini time!" Clyde cheered when you and Nichole walked in, earning slap on the back of the head from Craig, and a chuckle from Jimmy.

_Sorry, Clyde, but not today. At least, not from me._

Token groaned, defending you two, "I will kick you out if you're a creep. And quiet down, my parents are home!"

"No Tweek?" you asked, noticing your favorite spazzy blonde's absence.

"He's trying to get off work, but his parent's are being dicks," Craig explained.

You couldn't help but feel a small pang of guilt, "it's not because I cut my hours back, is it?"

"It's been like this since we w-were kids," Jimmy assured you.

"Whenever I get annoyed at my dad for having me work at the shop, I just say to myself 'at least I'm not Tweek,'" Clyde told you, giving jazz hands.

"Hey, Nichole, can you show [Y/N] to the guestrooms so you guys can change? We'll meet you in the basement." Token asked.

\---

You posed in front of a tall mirror hanging on the door of the guest room, a hand on your hip. 

_This is actually a **really** nice look. The guys might not be too thrilled, but I love this!_

You folded your clothes and met Nichole in the hall. She was ready to go, wearing a pastel blue two piece, the bottoms including a cute mini skirt. 

"Your suit is so cute!" you gushed as you two walked back down to the main floor.

"Thanks!" she smiled sweetly, but added with a sigh, "I kinda chose the shirt bottoms for today so Clyde wouldn't be able to see too much of my butt, though."

_That was probably a good choice._

The sounds of splashing met you when Nichole opened the basement door. You walked into the impressive basement to see Clyde, his arms bracing himself against the pool's edge, furiously kicking up water at Craig's face. Craig was shielding his face with his arms and backing away, but more likely out of fear of being kicked than the splashing.

Clyde stopped when he saw you and Nichole walking up, excited, but his face fell when he saw what you were wearing, "Aw, man, how am I supposed to-" he was interrupted by Craig, who roughly shoved him under the water in retaliation. 

It was then that you realized your friends were _built_. Even Clyde -who popped back up, gagging on pool water, and pulled himself up onto the pool's edge- had some muscle visible under his dough. 

You and Nichole joined the rest in the pool, noting Jimmy's crutches neatly placed outside of the pool by the walk in stairs. The two of you waded over to where Token and Jimmy chilled, away from Clyde's previous shenanigans. You were met with an unforeseen problem; your trucks are still filled with air.

"I don't see why you're so disappointed, Clyde," Jimmy pointed at your air filled trucks, "[Y/N]'s ass looks g-g-great!"

You burst out laughing and Jimmy fist pumped. When you stopped you looked around, "ok, seriously, though, how do I get it to _not_ do this?"

"You never wore trucks before? You just have to push it down-," Craig explained, only for Jimmy and a still coughing Clyde to interrupt him with a 'that's what she said.'

"-and just swim around," he finished, flipping the two of them off. 

\---

You and the group got a good hour of goofing off, when you heard the basement door open, followed by a voice and steps coming down the stairs.

"Thanks, Mrs. Black!" Tweek, called up the stairs and he walked down, a large, shallow, Tupperware container in his arms.

"Tweek!" you called out, notifying the others of his arrival.

"Hey!" he smiled, looking in your direction, "sorry I'm late, I brought cupcakes."

"Cupcakes!" Clyde shouted, pushing you and Nichole aside to get out of the pool, Craig shortly behind him.

* * *

**Cartman** : hey

**Cartman** : u dont have school tomorrow. come over to my place

**Cartman** : bring ur switch

**[Y/N]** : 👍

It had been a week since your hang out with Cartman, and you were slightly surprised he wanted you to come over again. You responded as you went to pick up some packages from your landlord. 

Most of the packages were what you expected; the art supplies that you had ordered for class. You stared, confused, at the contents of the last one.

_I did **not** order Animal Crossing.  
_

You flipped over the delivery packet, double checking the address. It was yours, although your last name was misspelled by one letter. You dug out the order slip from the packet, inspecting it.

"Who the hell is Mitch Conner?"

**Author's Note:**

> (Carried over from original posting)
> 
> Hey, all! Welcome to my first fic! 
> 
> As a bit of fair warning, MC is written as a Bisexual, Nonbinary girl (but can be read as a bi, cis tomboy). I will be working in some LGBT headcanons (for example, Kenny is trans). Characters will talk about and do things that young adults talk about and do - this is South Park, after all. What else? Updates miiiight be sporadic. TFbW powers are canon and will be a major part of the story. 
> 
> I'm really looking forward to continuing this story! Peace out <3


End file.
